The Third Option
by Republic-of-Yolossia
Summary: The year is 3102.Tired of their heavily controlled lives, Lovino and his friends join an underground resistance group. But as he's pulled deeper into this secret world of music, culture and love, Lovino realises just how inportant it is to fight the evil that controls his world, but if he fails, he will face the most horrific of choices. Spamano and others. Futuristic, dystopic AU.
1. The third option

'Thirty seconds left,' drawled Roderich. Gilbert swallowed and looked at the pair of frightened faces before him, gazing at him with puffy eyes, the remains of dry tears on both their cheeks. They had long run out of tears; now there was only numb terror.

How could he possibly choose? His little brother, Ludwig, was hiccupping quietly, rubbing his runny nose with one hand, the other gently touching a large bruise on his knee, visible through his shorts and the sight broke Gilbert's heart. His fiancée, Marianne, was simply sitting quietly at the bottom of her cage, long, blonde hair covering her face, probably accepting her fate. She expected him to choose Ludwig, why not? After all, blood is thicker than water. But he could not do that to her either; she meant too much to him, they both did, and it had been Gilbert's job to protect them. But he had failed and was now paying the price for that failure.

Gilbert turned desperately to the man behind him, the evil being who was making him do this in the first place.

Emperor Roderich the third, leader of the Eurasian empire.

'Please,' he begged, 'there must be some way. Can you not spare them both? Can I not go in their place?'

A slightly amused expression graced Roderich's smooth, fine features as he thought, or acted like he was thinking. The man was sitting on an elaborate platinum and velvet throne, dressed in detailed gold and amethyst robes with a jewelled crown placed upon his dark brown hair; his looks contrasted immensely with Gilbert's messy, dishevelled white hair and the desperate, miserable look in his eyes as he stood, handcuffed and in a simple, torn, muddy shirt and shorts.

The Emperor's violet eyes shone through delicate glasses with nothing but pure evil; there was no goodness left inside of him. To his right stood Lieutenant Zwingli in his decorated military uniform, the emperor's faithful guard and right hand man, holding a gun pointed straight at Gilbert's head, in case he tried anything. Vash never missed, and Gilbert didn't want to do or say anything that might make him turn his gun on Marianne or Ludwig.

'Well there is a third option,' mused Roderich, tapping his chin with a finger in pretend thought, a malevolent grin on his face, 'I probably should have mentioned it before I gave you a minute to decide who should live.'

'Will my brother and fiancée live if I pick this option?' asked Gilbert, daring to hope that everything would be alright.

'Of course,'

'You promise?'

'I swear on my rotten, corrupted, putrid soul.'

'Then what must I do?'

Another wicked smile, 'Oh I think you already know the answer to that.'

Gilbert turned back to look at the terrified faces before him, then looked down at the abyss.

'Ten seconds…'

Ignoring their cries of 'don't do it', Gilbert turned back to Roderich.

'I choose the third option,' he whispered.

'Good boy, you know what to do,'

Gilbert nodded and turned back to the two who would live.

'Look after my little brother, please Marianne, I'm so sorry Ludwig, but you have to be strong now I won't be…' he couldn't say it.

'I love you both, you know that, right?' he didn't wait for a reply before stepping forward.

…..

Yes new story, I know. But I wanted to get the first chapter up to see if anyone is interested in this plot and stuff…

This is going to be a Spamano centric fic with quite a few side pairings and is of the Dystopia genre.

Now the warnings: this story will contain foul language, violence, blood, weapons, references to smoking, a fair few sexual references but nothing too graphic, and relationships involving both heterosexual and homosexual couples. And character death, lots of character death.

You have been warned.


	2. Overcrowded

'Lovi, wake up now!'

Lovino winced at his father's voice and sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes and looking around. The two other beds in the room were empty, telling him that his little brothers were already awake and downstairs, probably eating breakfast.

'I'm up!' he called back. The one good thing about their tiny living quarters was that, if you yelled loud enough, you could communicate with anyone in the house. That also meant that secrets were never kept for long, which probably suited the Empire just fine. There were cameras, guards and spies everywhere in the city so if you had a problem with how things were, and you usually did, then you had to keep it in your mind, the one place they had not yet figured out how to monitor. If a person said, or did, something the Empire disagreed with then the shadow police would come to your house in the middle of the night and that's that. You were never seen again.

Lovino frowned as he tried to remember the dream he had last night. He recalled a feeling of absolute terror, being trapped and suspended by a thread. It felt so real, but at the same time Lovino could not remember any details.

Sighing, he got up and pulled on a sleeveless t-shirt and shorts from a drawer and slipped on a pair of trainers before heading downstairs.

As already stated, the residence was tiny. It was a two bedroom terraced house with a minuscule garden. The building, like the rest of the city, was made of metal, iron, to be precise, which was used in all the lower class areas. It was rusted in places and an ugly orange-brown colour. Of course, the richer you were, the rarer and prettier the metals used to build your home. The Grand Palace, where the Emperor and his family resided, was a lavish creation fashioned from gold, platinum, jewels and anything else they could find 200 years ago, when it was built for the first Emperor, who seized power from the government who ran the city and declared himself ruler of all Eurasia, the name given to whatever land was left of the two continents, Europe and Asia, which had flooded over a thousand years ago.

Lovino could never quite get his head around how no one had cared or even noticed when the sea levels rose, swallowing the land. It was only made an issue when people suddenly saw how much the land had changed: _Wait, was London always flooded? Didn't Iceland, Ireland and New Zealand use to exist? I thought Russia and Canada were supposed to be the two biggest countries in the world so why are they so small? _

Of course, the process occurred over a few hundred years and the changes were gradual, so it was understandable that no one should bother to pay attention when they had busy lives to lead. Until one day what was left of the polar ice caps crumbled and melted away, causing worldwide flooding. Most of the population perished but a few million managed to survive and escape inland, to start civilisation all over again. They renamed the landmass, which stretched from the Alps to the Gobi desert, now the Gobi marshes and from the remains of Moscow in the north to the Himalayas along the south coast. Everyone from Iceland to Indonesia, Siberia to Sri Lanka, migrated to a new city nestled just east of the alps, building a new world for themselves out of whatever was left, electing a government and living in peace, for a few hundred years at least.

Then the first Emperor took over, thought Lovino bitterly, and established a dictatorship. Now everyone was constantly monitored and each person had to 'be useful or die'.

Lovino brushed those thoughts out of his head and entered the main room. It was the largest room in the house, but still crowded. There was a dining table that took up one half of the room, whilst a little sitting-room area took up the other. That was where the family spent their evenings. Lovino and his brothers would sprawl on their battered sofa whilst their father sat in his old, grand armchair, next to the smaller, more refined armchair no-one was allowed to sit in…

Just as Lovino predicted, his brothers were already halfway through breakfast. Feliciano was completing some last minute homework, scribbling notes onto paper dotted with little sketches with one had, shovelling omelette into his mouth with the other. Salvatorio was reading from a textbook propped up against the milk carton, combing his messy hair.

'There you are Lovi!' exclaimed his father, sat at the head of the table, reading an al-o-gram. Al-o-grams were how people communicated and were just sheets of aluminium with messages burned onto them delivered to people's doors by messengers, after being heavily scrutinized and censored, 'good sleep?' he asked.

'Yup,' lied Lovino, 'any omelette left, dad?'

'There's some on a plate for ya lad,' his father informed him, pointing to the empty seat.

Lovino sat down and began to eat, studying his father. Romulus Vargas was leaning back in his chair reading afore mentioned al-o-gram, his plate left untouched. His usual cheery grin had disappeared and replaced with a look of slight confusion. His brows were knotted together and he scratched his stubbly chin.

'Hey since when do we get those things?' he asked, pointing at the al-o-gram.

'Huh? Oh, it's just a message from a cousin of yours,' explained his father, 'you remember Francis, right?'

'Yeah, the overly affectionate one with the fuckload of siblings?' asked Lovino, trying to recall.

'Yes, him!' Romulus snapped his fingers, breaking into a grin, 'so you remember him, then?'

'I remember the whole family,' Lovino answered.

'Well Francis seems to have run into a bit of trouble, he doesn't say what, probably can't through written communications, but it seems we have to make room for six new arrivals.'

'What?'

'Francis has lost his home and has to move in with us,' explained Romulus, 'they will be here this afternoon.'

'What?' repeated Lovino, 'we're all on top of each other as it is and there are only four of us!'

'I'm sorry Lovi,' sighed Romulus, 'but they're family; their father was my older brother and it's my duty to look after his children and be a good uncle. And I'm certain we can all make things work, plus the four oldest have jobs and the youngest have school so they won't be around all the time.'

'Fine,' growled Lovino, it's not like he had space or privacy in this house to begin with.

'Um, dad,' began Salvatorio, 'you said there were six people coming. I thought there were only five siblings, three boys and two girls.'

'Ah, well Francis' sister, Marianne, is also bringing her brother-in-law or something,' informed Romulus, skimming through the message one more time, 'funny though, they haven't mentioned her fiancé at all…'

'Maybe he ran off when he saw they were having problems,' suggested Lovino.

Feliciano gasped, 'but that is just a horrible thing to do! How can anyone leave their fiancé? Does no one care about love anymore? And Marianne is so lovely too!'

'That is no way to treat a pretty girl!' exclaimed Salvatorio, 'nor your brother.'

'Now now boys,' chided Romulus, 'we do not know the full story,'

'Understood,' said Feliciano. Salvatorio shrugged and continued reading.

'So Lovi,' said Romulus, changing the subject, 'will you be looking for a job today?'

'Course,' replied Lovino, 'I was thinking of trying the restaurants today; wouldn't mind working there.'

'Good choice, if that doesn't work then do you want me to ask around for ya?'

'No, I'll be fine, but thanks anyway dad,' Lovino gave a small smile before finishing his breakfast.

'You are trying, aren't you?' asked Romulus, placing a hand on his oldest son's shoulder. It was important for Lovino to get a job now he had finished school or he would be proclaimed 'workshy' by the authorities and taken away. He had until December to find employment.

'Of course I am,' Lovino assured him. It was only July and he felt he had plenty of time, so didn't worry about the situation.

'Good… good…'

Lovino said goodbye to his brothers, who would soon be leaving for school, and walked outside.

The street where they lived was messy and narrow, just a dull iron road bordered by tiny terraced houses. No gardens, no decorations, just rubbish strewn everywhere and dull-eyed adults on their way to work.

He started jogging down the street, greeting passers by cheerily, until he reached the end of the lane and took a right turn, slower now and keeping his head down. He put on a blank expression and tried to avoid catching the eyes of the small group of soldiers marching past. Another turning and Lovino found himself in a small side street, a shortcut.

He was not going to find a job, oh no, Lovino was heading to see his friends.

…

So here's the second chapter then, which hopefully has more information.

Now, on to the human names:

Lovino- S. Italy

Feliciano N. Italy

Salvatorio- Serborgia

Romulus- Rome

Francis- France

Marianne- Monaco

Please review and follow, I'd really appreciate it.

Also, I apologise for making Roderich the antagonist, but I prefer to use less overused 'bad guys' in my stories. Plus, I tend to treat my favourite characters pretty badly in stories, not sure why though…


	3. Punishable offenses

It was cool and dark under the bridge with welcoming shade that protected a person from the intense glare of the sun. The water was warm and clear, so you could see the bottom, the golden-red copper riverbed reflecting the sunlight. There was a walkway either side that ran the whole way along the river, running parallel to each other and providing people with access to the city's water supply. It dissected the city, running right through the middle and, like everything else, was artificial. It sprouted from the western side of the city wall and disappeared into the eastern wall where it was cleaned, processed and regurgitated out of the western wall once more. Several pipes connected it to the houses so that everyone had running water but the river itself was used to carry cargo by boat to other parts of the city if it was too wide to fit through the narrow streets. The river itself was two metres deep wherever it flowed and flowed slowly, so people could also swim in it in an attempt to escape the sun's heat, especially in the stifling, airless summer.

The walkway under the bridge was where Lovino spent his days smoking and laughing with his friends: Carlos, Eva and Jan. It was the one place where he could escape from his worries, from reality. He walked towards his friends, waving cheerily and flashing a grin. They waved back and Lovino bent down to take Eva's hand, which he kissed.

'Well hello there, beautiful,' he purred jokingly. Eva laughed, snatching her hand back. It was their little joke. She was sitting on the floor her legs hanging over the side, bare feet submerged in the crystal water. She wore a pea-green summer dress that matched her eyes and a large straw hat over her short blonde hair. She really was beautiful, though.

Her older brother, Jan, who was sitting next to Eva, glared at him. Lovino did a mock sigh, rolling his eyes animatedly.

'Well, we don't want you feeling left out now Jan; don't worry, you're beautiful too,' he kissed the older man's hand as well, causing Carlos, who was leaning against the wall, to burst out laughing. Jan shook his head, snatching his hand back. Lovino wasn't overly fond of Eva's brother. Sure, he was a nice enough guy and the only one in the group old enough to buy cigarettes, which were still legal even though alcohol and drugs had been outlawed years ago and the only reason they let him join their gang in the first place, it was just that Jan always looked like he did not want to be there. Lovino just shrugged and took a seat next to Carlos in front of an old propaganda poster of the Emperor, which Feliciano had drawn a moustache onto a few months ago with a felt pen when he and Sal were hanging out with them after school, indicating that the authorities never checked under the bridge, as such an insult to the Emperor would usually be removed immediately, meaning the four of them could stay there and talk about what they wanted to undisturbed.

'Hey Lovi,' said Eva cheerily, 'so, how's things with you?'

'Can't complain,' replied Lovi, 'well, actually, I can.'

'Thought so,'

'Apparently my dad's just invited a shitload of cousins to stay with us. There's going to be no room to freaking stretch now, let alone move. Have I ever mentioned my cousin Francis?'

'Nope,' said Eva.

'Hey you mean Francis Bonnefoy?' asked Carlos.

'Yup, you know him?'

Carlos shrugged, 'he hangs out with my brother. Nice guy wouldn't wanna live with him but still pretty cool.'

'Yeah well I have to live with him, and the other ones too,' Lovino folded his arms, pouting, which caused Eva to giggle.

'So how is sexy-I mean your brother anyway?' she asked Carlos.

Carlos snorted, turning his attention to dusting down his floral shirt, 'damn Eva,' he spluttered, 'how come you never call me that? Yeah he's fine, still obsessed with creating the perfect salad though.'

'Not even gonna ask,' muttered Jan.

'Good, cause it'll take forever to describe how he's always whining that he can't get real veg anymore. Apparently the synthesised stuff just doesn't cut it anymore,' Carlos pulled a packet of cigarettes out of his pocket, offering them to Lovino and Jan (Eva didn't smoke) before lighting one for himself.

'So have any of you got any closer to finding a job yet?' he asked.

'Yes I've had this nice job sticking up posters for a few years now,' replied Jan, smirking.

'I wasn't talking to you, twenty-three year old,' growled Carlos.

'No,' answered Lovino, 'I probably should start looking.'

'You should,' agreed Eva, 'or you'll be stuck making fast food or something for the rest of your life.'

…

Lovino stuffed his hands in his pockets, wandering down the road. It was evening now and he was returning home after a long day of doing nothing. He was passing the Golden Square, an open space in front of the grand palace bordered by silver trees, when he found himself in a cheering crowd. Looking around, he saw the royal family standing and waving from a balcony in front of their palace. Squinting, he could make out Roderich the third, Emperor of Eurasia, the grand Empress, Elizabeta, and the royal heir, Prince Franz. Sighing to himself, he began half-heartedly cheering and waving too, in case there were any soldiers nearby that might accuse him of not conforming.

'I bet I could shoot the dickhead from here,'

Lovino looked up to see a little blond man in an artificial tree calling down to his friends. He couldn't make out any features though.

'Tino what the hell are you saying?' cried another man from the ground, who was staring up at tree-guy with a look of horror, 'that sort of crap's gonna get you arrested one day.'

'Mathias is right, you know,' added a third fella, 'besides, you can't even hold a rifle anymore, let alone shoot one.'

'A guy can dream, Aleks!' cried Tino.

Lovino shook his head, deciding to continue his journey home, trying to appear cheery and celebrating as he navigated his way through the crowd.

Ducking into a side street, Lovino spat in disgust and began walking again, quicker now, lest anymore opportunities to be arrested came up.

…

'Please, treat this as if it's your own home,' Romulus told the group gathered in his main room. They were a sorry sight, dressed in as many clothes as they could to save space in their bags for their things, at least now they were unpacked and settled down on the sofa. Marianne and a little boy of around fourteen that was introduced as Ludwig were covered in bruises. He didn't want to bring the subject up, but he knew enough about what went on in the city to guess what happened to her fiancé.

They were a little older than the last time he'd seen them and a lot skinnier and sicker too. The oldest, Francis, looked like he'd been going without dinners to feed the younger ones and they all looked like they'd been handled roughly by the police.

'Thank you, Uncle Romulus,' Francis sighed.

'So do you want me to fix you up something to eat?' asked Feliciano, who was sat cross-legged on the floor next to Salvatorio.

'Could you please?' asked one of the twin boys, Mathew, 'we've been busy all day.'

'Sure,' Feliciano gave a bright smile and stood up to leave.

'I'll help,' added Salvatorio, following him out of the room.

'So,' said Romulus when they left, 'do you want to tell me what happened? If you don't then that's fine too-'

'We might as well,' stated Marianne, sitting up straight, 'I'm not sure if you know, but Gilbert, whom I was engaged to, was the editor of a little newspaper. It would appear he had been publishing articles that- shall we say- displeased the authorities greatly. So he was arrested and our whole family punished.' She looked away, close to tears.

'I see,' Romulus murmured, 'sorry for your loss,' Marianne just nodded, appearing to not be listening anymore.

…

'I'm home!' called Lovino, shutting the front door behind him and walking into the hallway, 'anyone care?'

'Hey Lovi you're just in time to help us,' replied Feliciano, sticking his head around the kitchen door, 'get a plate and carry it in; we have guests.' Lovino had no time to answer before a plate full of home-made snacks was thrust into his empty hands. Feliciano and Salvatorio appeared with plates of their own and the brothers wandered into the main room, placing the food onto the coffee table.

'Wow thanks guys,' cried Alfred, Mathew's twin brother, helping himself, 'this looks so great I could just eat everything right now!'

'Please don't,' requested Francis, picking up a roll, 'these tasty treats are for sharing.'

'Too right they are!' agreed Feliciano, 'don't worry, there's plenty to go round.'

'You're a good cook, Feli,' said Michelle, a pretty little girl with hair tied in red ribbons, who was also sat cross-legged on the floor, 'can you teach me sometime?'

'Of course!' Feliciano was practically glowing from the compliments and loving the attention. Lovino felt proud of him, and a little jealous. After all, he was the one who'd taught Feliciano everything he know about food.

Feliciano noticed that the youngest, who was apparently called Ludwig, wasn't eating. The kid tugged on his shirt nervously, looking at the floor. He was only a year or so younger than Feliciano himself, apparently, but looked small and bony, with cuts and bruises covering his skin.

'Hey, Ludwig, right?' Feliciano put on a kind expression and shuffled over to the kid, 'aren't you eating?'

Ludwig glanced up at him before looking back down without answering.

'He, err, well, Ludwig hasn't said a word since his brother died,' explained Francis, 'they made him watch,' he hissed to Romulus, 'and it's affected him badly.'

Feliciano noticed that Ludwig must have heard Francis, as the boy was tearing up.

'Here,' he said, piling food into a little plate, 'eat, you'll feel better.'

Ludwig nodded, tentatively taking the plate, picking up a biscuit and taking a nervous bite. He gave a small smile and Feliciano nodded happily.

'There, see? You feeling better?'

Ludwig shrugged. Lovino knew he was supposed to be feeling sorry for the kid, and he was, but the boy was just so creepy, the way he stared at everyone. Still, Lovino couldn't imagine losing one of his brothers, but he couldn't help but worry if he himself was losing Feli to this boy. He usually had to put up with his middle brother bombarding him with questions about his day, where he went, what he ate, who he saw and the like.

He turned to the pair of blond boys wearing glasses, the twins, who were lazing on the sofa.

'So you two got jobs then?' he asked, trying to make conversation.

'Yeah we work at the arms factory,' said the one with shorter hair, Alfred, right? Lovino always had trouble telling them apart.

'Hey that sounds interesting,'

'It's really not,' said the other, Mathew, 'it's just screwing things all day.'

'That don't sound so bad, screwing things all day, I mean,' joked Lovino. Mathew and Alfred laughed. They seemed like a pair of quality blokes and Lovino suspected their presence would make the whole overcrowding not seem so bad.

'So you have a job?' asked Alfred.

'Not yet,' replied Lovino, 'only out of freaking school.'

'Well if you want,' suggested Mathew, 'we could always put a word in at the factory if you can't find anything.'

'Thanks I'd appreciate that,' Lovino lied.

'Don't worry about it,' Alfred flashed a grin.

'So should he put on the telly?' asked Romulus, 'there's not much on but still.'

Francis nodded and, being nearest, switched on the small television set. There was only one channel, run by what passed for a government nowadays. At the moment, there was a speech from the Emperor being broadcasted.

'… _And we must thank the loyal people of this empire,_

_For their efforts in maintaining the order and loyalty_

_Necessary for the ten year anniversary of my coronation next week…_'

Francis sighed, switching off the set.

'What a dick,' murmured Alfred; Mathew nodded in agreement.

'Yes but he's the dick that runs the place,' Romulus shook his head, 'so we all have to be careful.'

…..

Yup, another chapter. So, tell me what you think and all.

Human names:

Jan- Netherlands

Eva- Belgium

Carlos- Cuba

Michelle- Seychelles

Alfred- America

Mathew- Canada

Ludwig- Germany

Tino- Finland

Mathias- Denmark

Aleks- Norway

Franz- Kugelmugel

Elizabeta- Hungary

Now, there are a whole crapload of side pairings in this. Should I list them all so you all know what's coming up?


	4. Starting again

Heracles sighed nervously and leaned against the alley wall, giving quick glances every now and then at the deserted courtyard a few metres away. He was hiding near the city wall, out of sight, waiting for someone he hadn't seen for ten years. Earlier that day he'd found an anonymous note left on the counter of his café telling him to come to the eastern market square at ten o'clock and Heracles was starting to think it was a bad idea to have actually gone. What if it was a trap set to catch any remaining rebels who still thought they had a chance of bringing change? What if he was mere moments from being arrested, tortured and executed?

Heracles sighed, wishing he'd thought to bring Kiku along, he'd know what to do, but then again, at least Kiku was safe and waiting for him with the others. He wanted to join them, tell them to go home and they were mistaken, safe too, but very mistaken indeed.

'What am I doing here?' he asked himself, scratching the back of his head.

'Waiting for me, I presume,' a voice next to him whispered in his ear.

Heracles yelped, wheeling round, readying his fists for a fight, when he saw who it was.

'Sadik Adnan you bastard,' he murmured, 'you're really back.'

'The one and only,' Sadik winked at him. He was grinning widely, leaning against the wall in the same dark green hoodie and white mask he always wore, but now they were covered in layers of dust and grime and frayed in several places. Then his smile fell, 'hey keep it down, will you? The kid's asleep,' he nodded at the bundle in his arms. On closer inspection, Heracles found that it was a little boy of around ten asleep, arms around Sadik's neck, wearing one of Sadik's old shirts and a pair of handmade shorts too large for him, wrapped in a frayed blanket.

'Oh? I don't think I've met this fella,' Heracles bent over for a closer look.

'Who? Kuzey?' Sadik looked at the boy, 'yeah our mother gave birth to him shortly after we were exiled.'

'So,' Heracles looked around, 'where are your mother and brothers anyway?'

Sadik shook his head, 'didn't make it,' was all he said.

'I see,' Heracles looked away sadly.

'Still,' Sadik cleared his throat, 'I'm here for a reason.'

'We're going to try again?' Heracles raised an eyebrow, 'it was your parents' anti-emperor resistance club that got us all in this mess.'

'I know things didn't go so well last time,' for a moment, there was a haunted look in his eyes, then it was gone, 'but we'll recruit more, plan more carefully, use enhanced tactics. We will succeed this time,' he looked so hopeful, 'please; I just want a better life for Kuzey. He's already suffered so much he just needs to be safe for once.'

'Sadik?' asked a sleepy voice. A pair of large, brown eyes peeked out from the blankets Sadik was carrying and looked around, 'we're here?'

'Yes, little one,' Sadik smiled at him, 'hey, do you think you could walk now? My arms are pretty tired.'

'Of course,' Kuzey allowed his brother to set him down and he stood, huddled against Sadik, using his blanket as a shawl.

'I guess we should be getting inside before we're seen,' Sadik hinted at Heracles, who sighed, rolling his eyes.

'Course, right this way,' he started walking down the alley, gesturing for the other two to follow him. Sadik grasped Kuzey's hand for comfort, leading the child through the streets after Heracles.

'So are we going back to the old place?' Sadik hissed in Heracles' ear.

'Where else can we go?' replied Heracles, looking a little bored.

'True,' Sadik looked around for a few moments, taking in the city he'd never set foot in for years, 'so did you manage to recruit many people?'

'Well you only gave me one day,' Heracles glared at him.

'So is that a yes or a no?'

'You'll see when you get there.'

Sadik groaned.

'Shut it,' growled Heracles, 'I'm still not one hundred percent sure I want in on this crazy mission of yours. I had to watch my mother die last time I agreed to be part of your resistance.'

'So did I,' Sadik shot back, 'I promise, there won't be deaths this time. We're too experienced for that.'

'You poor delusional fool,' muttered Heracles.

'Don't be mean!' whined Kuzey, aiming a swing at Heracles' leg.

'Well it's true,' Heracles rolled his eyes.

'Things are going to be different,' Sadik assured him, 'I promise.'

…

'It's good to be home,' Sadik took a deep breath as he stood in front of the old café.

'Piss off, it's my home,' Heracles shot back.

'It's headquarters,' Sadik concluded, pushing the front door open. Inside, the tables that littered the room were cleaned ready to be used the next day. At the end, there was a counter where sandwiches and other snacks were displayed during the day, and behind the counter was the entrance to another world. Their world.

Sadik strode across the room, Heracles and Kuzey, who was half asleep by then, following behind. His eyes scanned the floor behind the counter and soon he found it, the trapdoor.

'Hey it's where I remember it,' Sadik thought back to when he was a teen, sneaking through the trapdoor after his parents to discuss tactics and plans with the rest of the resistance. Back then, it was all a big game to him and the other kids. Back before he realised just what the authorities were capable of doing to traitors. He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind; it was up to him now and he had to be strong to save the people he cared for from the evil that took so much from them. Descending the ladder hidden by the door, Sadik reached the bottom and allowed Heracles to pass a now asleep Kuzey to him, before stepping back to allow the man to follow. The three, Kuzey now being carried by Sadik, wandered through a dark corridor until they came to a large set of doors at the end: the entrance to the grand hall.

'So everyone's waiting in there, right?' asked Sadik.

'Yup,' Heracles smiled slightly, 'they're sitting round the table waiting for us.'

'Great,' Sadik's smile faltered, 'hey, err, is it okay if I put the kid to bed in one of the spare rooms and join you in a minute,' he sighed, 'been years since I last been around so many people and I'm a little afraid.'

'Of course,' replied Heracles, 'you remember where they are?'

'Yup,' Sadik began making his way down the corridor. He quietly opened a door a few metres along, one he remembered being the room he stayed in when he was spending the night here back in the old days. It was pretty much how he remembered it, if a little dusty. Sadik guessed this would be their new home now. After all, he was a wanted man, even if the authorities weren't yet aware of his return, and couldn't just apply for a house or flat for them. Still, after ten years of wandering in the wilderness, it was practically a palace.

He placed Kuzey on the double bed in the centre of the room and tucked him in. The little boy sleepily opened an eye, staring at him questioningly.

'Hey little man,' Sadik whispered soothingly, 'I'm gonna talk with the other grown ups now. Get plenty sleep for tomorrow; you've had a long journey.'

Kuzey nodded and was asleep within moments.

Sadik chuckled at the child before leaving quietly as he could. He made his way back to the main hall, stopping at the doors to compose himself. He was really scared of facing people again. Ever since his mother died giving birth in the middle of nowhere, he hadn't spoken to another adult. What if he sounded stupid or uncivilized? He'd never be able to convince people to risk their lives for him looking like this. Still, there was nothing he could do about it now. Sadik sighed, steeling himself before opening the door and striding in, trying to give an air of confidence.

The main hall, where all the top meetings and gatherings were held, consisted of a large room with a stage at the far end. In the middle, a bulky steel table stood surrounded by chairs. Sadik was a little disheartened, though pretty relieved, to find only five of those chairs were occupied by people.

He stood silently for a few minutes, studying the five with interest. There was Heracles, of course, along with four strangers. Well, Sadik was sure that he recognised two of them. The man Heracles was in discussion with, for example, was Kiku Honda, an old friend of theirs. Sadik should have expected the black haired, brown eyed man would be here; he and Heracles were pretty close. The other familiar member of the party was young Arthur Kirkland, dressed in a white shirt, black tie and trilby hat. He wasn't speaking to the others, instead busied himself with writing who knows what in a dog-eared old notebook. The final two, who sat side by side in muttered discussion, were completely new to Sadik. The pair looked nothing alike; the man nearest to him had light brown, long, messy hair and eyes that looked almost red. He grinned mischievously at his friend, waving a hand as he spoke. He wore a red t-shirt with a hat that looked a little small for him. The other had darker hair in a neat parting and green eyes. He wore a calmer expression, nodding along to whatever the other was saying and was dressed in a slightly smarter manner, donning a green shirt and loose black tie. Every now and then he gave a small smile at the first man, causing the latter to grin wider.

Sadik cleared his throat, striding across the room, around the table, to take a seat at the head.

'So, Hera,' he turned to Heracles, 'would you mind telling me how we're going to overthrow the Emperor with just six people?'

Heracles rolled his eyes, 'like I've said before,' he explained calmly, 'I was only informed of your planned return this morning. This was the best I could do at such short notice.'

'Yes, yes,' groaned Sadik.

'I assure you a recruitment campaign will begin tomorrow,' said Kiku.

'Great,' Sadik flashed a grin, and then a thought struck him. Why wasn't… no, surely he'd have shown up if he heard. Sadik guessed no one had told…

'He's not here,' he whispered to himself.

Heracles overheard, sighing, 'sorry bout that, I couldn't find Jan today. We'll try tomorrow though.'

'Of course…'

'So you've really been outside the city?' asked the dark haired green man.

'That's right,' answered Sadik.

'What was it like?' asked the lighter haired fella, eyes shining, 'what did you see? Are there other people? What about animals? I've never seen one. Are they big?'

'Who is this guy?' Sadik hissed at Heracles.

'Oh, sorry, forgot to introduce myself,' the man chuckled, 'my name's Alin. Please call me Alin,' he pointed at the man next to him, 'this is my buddy Tsvetan.'

'Nice to meet ya,' Sadik flashed a grin.

'So, I guess you're boss now,' said Alin.

'Yeah,'

'So what's it like on the outside?' Alin asked again.

Sadik sighed, 'it's no good to live in, if that's what you mean,' he took off his mask and rubbed the bridge of his nose, 'it's just dead, barren and a wasteland. There are people, sure, other people in exile and a few whose ancestors didn't settle in the city a thousand years ago but not enough to be of any help to us. Heck, they don't even want anything to do with the city; even they know it's a bad place. Plus, you can't find somewhere and live there permanently. There are so few resources that you have to be constantly moving. The animals are fierce too, and you always have to be on edge,' Sadik shook his head, 'this city's the safest place… well, it will be when everyone has some basic rights again.'

'So that's what we're fighting for then,' questioned Heracles, 'our rights?'

'Yes,' Sadik stood up, walking over to the stage, 'because every one of us deserves freedom. The right to live our lives to its fullest potential; to live, eat, have decent food; to know you can talk, or act, and not have your whole family pay the price for it. When we're done, boys, there'll be democracy once more. And I promise, there will be no more death, or torture, or secret police, and, most importantly, no Emperor!'

'Nicely said,' called Arthur.

'Well I'm in,' added Alin, leaning back in his chair.

'You have my loyalty,' Tsvetan told him, smiling slightly.

'You know,' began Arthur, 'after you were exiled, the Emperor's soldiers raided my home looking for anything from the old days they could use to arrest me or my brothers with. My family fought back so they shot every one of them,' he looked at the table, green eyes dark and clouded, 'except my youngest brother. They took him away to be worked to death in a factory of some other dangerous job. I fear he's already passed on,' Arthur looked back up at Sadik, eyes watery, 'he was two years old!'

'I'm so sorry to hear that,' Sadik had been pretty fond of Arthur's family, and couldn't imagine someone doing that to Kuzey.

'I will fight with you to the very end,' continued Arthur, 'I cannot allow what happened to my family happen to others.'

'Thank you,' Sadik sat back down, 'so, Kiku, Hera, you gonna join in too?'

'I don't have much choice, do I?' Heracles raised an eyebrow, 'you're using my café as headquarters.'

'Fair enough,' Sadik shrugged.

'You two are some of my closest friends,' stated Kiku, 'where you go, I go. Besides, I want to make a better world for my siblings.'

'Great,' Sadik gave a small smile.

'I must ask,' Arthur chimed in, 'how did you manage to sneak back in here? Was it a daring, clever plan? Were you helped by someone on the inside?'

'Lets just say Kuzey and I didn't spend nearly ten hours in a crate for nothing,' Sadik looked at each of them, 'go home and get plenty of rest. For tomorrow the real work begins.'

…

Basically this is a chapter to introduce new characters.

Human names:

Sadik- Turkey

Heracles- Greece

Kuzey- TRNC (well, that was the name I was recommended to use for him)

Kiku- Japan

Arthur- England

Alin- Romania

Tsvetan- Bulgaria

Now, I should probably mention the pairings that will be featured throughout the story, so you all know what you're getting. The list is: Spamano, Gerita, TurkNed, Sufin, EngBel, AusHun, Prumon, FraRus, CuCan, KugelLiech, China/Liech, India/China, Giripan, RomBul, BelaLiet, EstUkr, DenNor, AusNZ, and possibly a few others (more or less a mixture of popular and obscure ships).


	5. Only natural

Feliciano stirred, slowly opening his eyes, then shutting them again in protest of the bright light coming in through the window. He hated waking up in the mornings and as pretty surprised that he couldn't hear one of his brothers standing over him yelling to get up or he'll be late for school. Now that he thought about it, Feliciano realised he was pretty uncomfortable… and soaked.

Feliciano sat up quickly, _oh no_, he thought, _I've wet the bed_. It was really unfair, he believed, as that hadn't happened since he was about four years old and now, of all nights, when he was sharing a bed and everything…

_Oh_, Feliciano pulled the covers back to find that it wasn't him that was responsible for wetting the bed.

It was Ludwig.

'I see,' Feliciano felt a pang of sympathy for the kid who was sharing a bed with him now. Things must have been really appalling for the boy to leave him in that state, silent, terrified and now this... He gently shook the little blond awake.

'Hey, Luddy,' he whispered soothingly, 'you've had an accident and we need to get you cleaned up.'

Ludwig stared at him in confusion, before looking down in horror. When he'd seen what he'd done, he curled up in a ball, blushing madly and beginning to sob, shoulders shaking, absolutely humiliated.

'Hey, it's okay,' Feliciano patted him on the shoulder, 'it happens to everyone. Now we need to get you cleaned up and after that we can have breakfast, go to school and forget all about it, sound good?' Feliciano smiled brightly at Ludwig, who nodded, allowing Feliciano to pull him up and strip the sheets.

'If we wash these now no one will ever know what happened,' Feliciano assured him, gathering up the sheets and making his way towards the door.

'Hey were ya going?' asked a sleepy Salvatorio, climbing out of his own bed, which he now shared with Lovino to make room for Alfred and Mathew in the third one.

'Sal,' gasped Feliciano, taking Ludwig's hand to stop him from running away in shame at being caught, 'well, we could do with your help. Find some clothes for Ludwig, you're about the same size as him, and meet us in the kitchen. Then make breakfast for us, please.'

Salvatorio glanced at the sheets in his brother's arms and nodded, tip-toeing over to the clothes drawer. Seeming satisfied, Feliciano led Ludwig into the hall.

'It's probably a good thing everyone else is as lazy as I am so we have plenty of privacy,' he joked, grinning at the other boy, who remained silent, tears still streaming down his face.

'Hey chin up,' Feliciano soothed, 'nothing to be ashamed of, believe me.'

They walked into the tiny kitchen and Feliciano stuffed the sheets into the old-fashioned washing machine.

Just then, Salvatorio came in holding a green shirt and shorts with some underwear too.

'Great,' chirped Feliciano, 'now change into these Ludwig and we can put your pyjamas in here too.'

The brothers turned around to give Ludwig privacy, then Feliciano took the wet pyjamas and stuffed them in the washing machine before closing the little door and turning the machine on.

'Now that's done,' stated Feliciano over the whirr of the machine, 'what's for breakfast?'

…

Lovino swung his legs over the edge of the path, allowing the river water to cool his bare, sore feet.

'So how's life with the Bonnefoys?' asked Eva, 'they gettin' on your nerves yet?'

'Oh definitely,' replied Lovino, 'the twins are alright though.'

'Any good lookin' ones?' inquired Eva, sitting next to him and dipping her own feet in the water.

'Seriously who asks that?' scoffed Carlos, 'but seriously though are there?'

Lovino rolled his eyes, 'I don't know, probably. They're my cousins dammit I don't know if they're good-looking and I don't want to.'

'Fine, fine,' Eva dropped the subject.

'So where's Grumpy then?' asked Carlos.

'He's at work,' Eva sighed, 'a concept that may be unfamiliar to you two.'

'Hey you're just as work-shy as us,' Carlos pointed out, 'besides, there may be a position in a factory with my name on it.'

'Oh?' Lovino looked at him with interest, 'I thought we were going to wait til September to even start looking.'

'Yeah but this job will involve making ice treats and if I'm gonna be doing something for the rest of my life, I'd like it to be that.'

'Fair enough,' said Lovino.

'I wonder if I could get a job at the palace…' said Eva absent-mindedly.

'What?' cried Carlos.

'Are you insane or some shit?' Lovino looked at her like she was, indeed, mad, 'you know how horrible the pricks there are; why would you want to be anywhere near the place?'

'Well I want to see colourful, pretty flowers at least once in my life and working at the palace gardens would give me a good opportunity to be around them all the time and look after them. Gotta be a well-paid job too.'

'Yeah but you have to be one of the nobility to even get close to anyone in the palace.'

'I'll marry a noble then,' stated Eva.

'But-' Lovino sighed, deciding not to bother mentioning the unlikely chances of a noble marrying her, or her being allowed to get the job even then, and even if she got the job she would have married for status and probably be really unhappy for the rest of her life.

Still, everyone was allowed to dream; dreaming was natural.

'Hey who's the weirdo in black?' Carlos hissed at the other two. They all turned to find that there was a man in a black suit and sunglasses staring at them from the stairs next to the bridge that led to the busy road above.

'Shit he looks pretty freaky,' Lovino hissed back.

'What if he's part of the shadow police?' Eva whimpered.

'Nah, that's crazy,' Lovino replied, though he was thinking exactly the same, 'come on now, we're not doing anything the bastard can put us away for… right?'

'Guys he's coming over to us,' gasped Carlos.

'Act natural,' Lovino told them and the trio sat in silence as the strange man strode towards them and, to their surprise, sat next to them.

'So what are you chaps talking about, then?' he asked.

'Nothing,' said Lovino quickly, wishing, for once, that Jan was with them. He always knew what to do around authority figures and the presence of the older man would be reassuring to the young trio.

'Doesn't sound like nothing,' said the man. Lovino studied him closely, he had short blond hair and, though his sunglasses, green eyes, as well as bushy eyebrows.

'We're not breaking the law,' Carlos assured him.

'I never doubted that for a second,' replied the stranger, taking off his trilby hat and scratching his head, 'but would you ever want to in the future?'

'What do you mean?' Lovino eyed him suspiciously.

'That defiled poster,' the stranger jerked a thumb at the poster of the Emperor that Feliciano had drawn the moustache onto, 'your work, by any chance?'

'What? Don't be silly;' cried Eva, 'we'd never do that!'

'Oh really? I don't believe that' the stranger grinned at them, 'say, how would you all like to be part of a revolution?'

'No thanks,' growled Jan, appearing behind them. The four wheeled round to find him looming over them, arms folded and glaring. Lovino thought he saw a hint of familiarity in his eyes, 'I refuse to let my little sister get dragged into this,' he grabbed Eva's wrist and pulled her up, ignoring the girl's protests, 'please, it's for your own good and if you boys were wise, you'd follow us,' he walked away, taking Eva with him.

'Hey what's the big idea?' Eva scratched at her brother's arm, 'I can make my own decisions, you know.'

'Please,' Jan closed his eyes briefly, 'just trust me on this one. Arthur's bad news and being around him will just bring trouble.'

'I thought he was kinda cute,' muttered Eva.

'Please, I beg of you,' Jan looked at her pleadingly, 'just stay away from him and anyone else who mentions this revolution crap. It'll only get you killed.'

'I see,' Eva couldn't ignore the look in her brother's eyes, or the tone of his voice and allowed him to lead her away from the others.

…

'Well,' began Arthur, 'that was… unfortunate. Still, what do you two say?' he turned his attention back to Lovino and Carlos, 'want to be part of the resistance. I don't doubt that the pair of you are not too fond of the Emperor and his laws and totalitarian rule, and just imagine a world without him, without any of them. You could finally be free!'

'I dunno,' said Lovino, 'sounds kinda risky.'

'It is,' admitted Arthur, 'but the results will be worth it. So, you interested?'

'Yeah why not?' Carlos nodded, 'what about you, Lovi?'

'Ah go on,' replied Lovino, 'what have I got to loose?'

…

Hmm, not too much to say here, except please review, they mean a lot to me.


	6. Loyalty

'I never caught your names,' admitted Arthur as the three made their way along narrow streets, the two boys following closely behind.

'Oh, I'm Carlos Fernandez Carriedo and this is Lovino Vargas,' explained Carlos.

'Pleased to meet you,' replied Arthur.

'And what do we call you?' asked Lovino.

'For now, please refer to me as 'the gentleman',' requested Arthur, 'it's too early for me to be telling you my real name.'

'I see,' Carlos stared at him wearily and Lovino began to wonder if the boy was having second thoughts. He knew he definitely was.

They walked in silence for the rest of the trip, following Arthur, err, 'the gentleman', to a small, grimy café in some corner of the city.

'We'll go inside and sit at one of the tables,' explained Arthur, 'and I'll explain things further…'

…

'…So our aim is to more or less establish a democracy here and overthrow the Emperor,' explained Arthur. Lovino and Carlos, who were sitting across the table from him, listened intently. It turned out there was an attempt at a revolution ten years previously that ended badly and everyone was starting again and giving it a second go, which would hopefully be more successful. Lovino didn't like how vague Arthur was at explaining what happened to the last resistance but was too afraid to ask about it further.

'And what exactly is a democracy?' demanded Carlos.

Arthur blinked in surprise, then sighed, 'of course, how silly of me. Let's see, democracy is an old idea of a country being governed by the people, who elect their leaders through votes and the leaders change every few years, so there's no inherited power, and the leaders have to listen to the government and people.'

'Sounds pretty good,' said Carlos.

'Well we cannot create democracy on our own though,' continued Arthur, 'we need people to fight against Roderich. This is where you come in. Are you willing to fight for justice and freedom?'

Lovino looked around to see if anyone was eavesdropping then turned to Carlos.

'What do you say?' he asked.

Carlos nodded, 'sounds like fun,' he replied, 'and it might do some good too.'

'Yeah okay,' Lovino faced Arthur again, 'we're in.'

…

'This trapdoor leads to an underground network of tunnels,' said Arthur as he lifted a little door in the floor behind the counter.

'Wow, really?' gasped Lovino, 'cool.'

'It is in a way,' agreed Arthur, 'so we just go down here using the ladder on the wall,' he lowered himself into the hole, pointing out where the ladder was and climbing down. Lovino and Carlos exchanged nervous glances before following suit.

The pair were led down a dark corridor to a pair of large, closed doors. Arthur strode over to them and knocked loudly, then stepped back to wait.

'Come in,' a voice called and Arthur opened the door.

Lovino and Carlos found themselves in the biggest room they'd ever been in; it was bigger than their school hall even. There was a stage at the end and a massive table sat right in the middle. Seated around the table were three men in deep discussion.

'Oh no,' breathed Arthur, taking a step backwards. Lovino glanced at Carlos, who looked as terrified as he was.

'Ah, Arthur, there you are,' greeted one of the men, one in a green hoodie and white mask, 'please, allow me to introduce-'

'Tino Väinämöinen,' gasped Arthur.

Of course, Lovino should have recognised the Emperor's former guard immediately. Tino was short, but stocky and fierce. He had soft blond hair that nearly covered his lilac eyes and always wore a white cross necklace. His right arm stopped at the elbow, from saving the Emperor's life on a visit to the weapons factory, and his light blue shirt had the right sleeve rolled up and pinned out of the way. Even wearing shorts and scuffed trainers, the man scared Lovino out of his wits. He was a dead shot back in the old days and had ended the lives of many men in the name of the Emperor.

He'd retired just over nine years ago after loosing his arm, though, as he could no longer hold a rifle. He then settled down with his husband and lived with him and their three friends, so he'd heard. The man was regarded as a national hero in propaganda, but a sworn enemy by the citizens, especially relatives of those he killed.

'We've been caught already,' Arthur whispered, and Lovino paled. They were about to be arrested and executed as traitors and they hadn't even done anything… well they hadn't done much. He couldn't even run now that he'd been seen and probably identified. His family were doomed and Lovino felt tears for his father, little brothers and cousins sliding down his face.

'Oh, it's nothing like that,' Tino assured them, 'I'm on your side.'

'He's one of us,' added the third man, who had longish brown hair and wore a calm expression.

'But boss,' protested Arthur, 'how do we know that?'

'Who do you think got me into the city in the first place?' replied the masked man.

'Why would he help us?' Arthur glared suspiciously at Tino, who sighed, looking somewhat tired.

'I guess I should explain, right?' he gave a grin before continuing, 'I hate the Emperor as much as the rest of you do. He's the reason I lost my arm and much more.'

'But it was your job to protect the Emperor' argued Lovino, 'and that's what you were doing when you pushed him out of the way of the machine in the factory.'

'So that's the story they're using? Did you hear that Sadik?' Tino laughed 'what utter bullshit.'

'You mean it's not true?' Lovino raised an eyebrow.

'Arthur, who are these people?' asked Sadik.

'Oh, new recruits,' explained Arthur, 'they're Lovino and Carlos and have agreed to join us and fight.'

Lovino wasn't too sure about the fighting part, and feared this organisation was more serious than he'd originally thought, but they were stuck here now and most likely couldn't back out once they were in.

'Is that true?' Sadik studied them closely and the two boys nodded, 'great!' he cried, 'now sit down and we'll get to you later, but first it's important to know your allies and you all really need to hear what Tino has to say, as I doubt any of you would trust him otherwise.'

Lovino, Carlos and Arthur obeyed, sitting around the table to listen to Tino's tale.

'Well, it's true I was close to Roderich the third, and have done many horrendous things in my life… maybe it's because of that that I wanted to do some good for once, and Berwald, my husband, agreed. We saw other soldiers leading small children through the streets to become unpaid labour in the mines. They were the children and siblings of traitors and resistance members but Berwald believed they were innocent and shouldn't be punished because of what their families have done. But we only managed to save two before we were caught. The little boys we'd saved were well hidden but we were arrested and branded traitors.' Tino paused for breath and looked around the table to make sure he still had everyone's undivided attention. 'They couldn't kill us without us becoming martyrs and possibly sparking another uprising. They'd only just put down the last one and they feared more executions could damage the population, even causing us all to die out. In addition, it just wouldn't do for one of the Emperor's most trusted guards to be revealed to have disobeyed him. It would make him look vulnerable and easy to kill. It was bad enough that the previous Emperor was assassinated by a member of his own council so we were allowed to live and a story would be made up about what happened to me. But our lives came with a price.' Tino gestured to his missing arm, 'we suffered mutilations. I lost an arm and Berwald lost his eyes. That's why I want to aid you. Out of revenge for what he did to Berwald, who cannot see his own sons grow up now, and for the poor children we couldn't save.'

'That's terrible,' Carlos gasped.

'I know,' Tino sighed, 'I know I cannot use a gun anymore but I can still offer my experiences as a soldier and train new members. Please just let me do what I can to help you.'

'Of course,' Sadik nodded in understanding, 'we're grateful for your assistance and deeply sorry for what's happened to you and your family.' He turned to the two newest members, 'so, Carlos and Lovino, you want to join too?'

'Yes,' Carlos nodded, 'please let us help as well.'

'Course, course,' Sadik's gaze seemed to dissect them and Lovino couldn't help squirming a little, 'do we have your complete loyalty?'

'Yes sir,' they both answered.

'Do you swear to be committed to this cause and fight for your, all of our, freedom?'

'We swear,'

'Do you swear on your mothers' lives?'

'Yes,' replied Carlos firmly. Lovino, however, remained silent.

'Hesitant?' inquired Sadik, raising an eyebrow.

'Not at all it's just,' Lovino looked away, 'my mother died giving birth to my youngest brother.'

'My apologies,' said Sadik sincerely, 'do you swear on your father's life then?'

'I do,' Lovino couldn't help but feel slightly nervous at this.

'Then welcome aboard!' cried Sadik, 'now I want you both here at seven o'clock tomorrow to start your training. Please, if you have friends or family who would like to join then please bring them along too because we need more members.' He shook them both by the hand and Lovino and Carlos stood up to leave.

'Sorry,' began Sadik, 'I don't think I caught your surnames…'

'Carlos Fernandez Carriedo,' answered Carlos.

'Lovino Vargas,'

'Vargas?' Sadik looked at him curiously, 'sorry, how did you say your mother died again?'

'Childbirth,'

'I see,' Sadik shook his head slightly, 'well, anyway, see you both tomorrow.'

…..

YES I GOT THIS CHAPTER FINISHED BEFORE CHRISTMAS!

So, err, Merry Christmas everyone and I hope you have a good day


	7. Forbidden

'Hey I'm home,' Lovino closed the front door wiped his feet on the welcome mat.

'Great, Lovi why don't you start dinner for us,' his father called back from somewhere in the house, 'there's three tins in the kitchen.'

Lovino groaned; tins meant they were getting awful fake food for dinner again. At least preparing things from scratch, even with synthesised ingredients, made the food taste better, and well earned. Cans were for lazy people or those with jobs.

He trudged into the kitchen and, sure enough, found three tins of spaghetti with the little sausages sitting smugly next to the cooker.

'I fucking hate sausages,' Lovino growled, ripping the lid off the first one and dumping the contents into the saucepan, 'why does he always do this to me? He knows they're my least favourite. All dad has to do is ask and I'll stay home and cook a decent meal,' he furiously pulled the lids off the other two tins and slopped them in before resting his head against the counter and sighing, 'I hate my damn life.'

He looked up to find Ludwig staring at him from across the room and jumped. _When did he get here?_

'What'ya want?' he growled, 'can't you see I'm working.'

Ludwig's eyes widened and the boy ran from the room.

'Weird…' muttered Lovino, picking up a large spoon to stir the spaghetti, 'how is that brat only two years younger than me?'

Ludwig kept running until he reached his new room, dived under the freshly washed covers and began to cry. He'd only wanted to help but was too scared to say it.

…

'Nice job Lovino,' Romulus flashed his oldest son a grin as he dug into his plate of plastic food. Lovino just grunted in return, poking one of the sausages with his fork. The entire family was crowded around the table digging into their meagre portions of spaghetti and were casually chatting to one another, worn-out from a day's work or school.

'Hey if you don't like those why don't you give them to Luddy?' suggested Feliciano, pointing at his friend's plate, which now contained only pasta, 'he seems to like them, right?' Feliciano stared at Ludwig, who nodded, blushing.

Lovino shrugged and pushed the sausages onto the boy's plate. Sure, the spaghetti still tasted like crap but now he didn't have to worry about the worst part of the meal.

'Hey, d'you know what would be nice,' he began, 'if we could go outside the city and set up areas to grow and make real food. I'm not too sure how it's done but it'd be worth a try, right?' he shrugged, 'be better than this shit anyway.'

'Now you know you can't go outside,' Romulus sighed, 'please, Lovi, be realistic. The only way the Emperor allows anyone to go outside is when they're sent into exile and, believe me, you do not want that to happen.'

'But that Sadik Adnan went into exile and him and his brother survived,' argued Lovino. By now there was complete silence as everyone was focused on what Lovino and his father were saying.

'Where did you hear that name?' whispered Romulus, paling considerably and dropping his fork.

'I met him today,' answered Lovino, 'he wants to form a resistance and overthrow the Royals which is, quite frankly, a fucking great idea. Hey, maybe then we could be able to farm-'

'Don't you fucking dare get mixed up in that!' thundered Romulus, rising, 'you want to get us all killed or something?'

'Whoa, come on dad, don't you think we've all suffered enough already because of the royals?' reasoned Lovino, 'what more could they do to us?'

'You have no idea what they could do,' growled Romulus, dangerously low, 'if you think life's bad now then you'll really fucking hate it if the authorities if they ever find out what you've said or done. Just stay away from that man if you want to stay alive, got it?'

'But being alive is nothing if we're not free,' Lovino surprised himself with how passionate he was about this. He'd been pretty certain he wasn't too serious about all this fighting talk, but it would appear not.

'I'd rather have you all here and safe than…' Romulus couldn't finish the sentence.

'Hey calm down sir,' soothed Francis, 'I'm sure Lovi is perfectly aware of what he's getting into…'

'No he's not!' cried Romulus, 'he has no idea what could happen to him, what could happen to everyone here' he looked at his son, close to tears, 'please Lovi I'm begging you. Stay away from Sadik and all who agree with him. I cannot loose you, or Feli, or Sal. It's bad enough…' he looked away, 'just don't do it.'

'Why? Why are you so scared of doing the right thing?' Lovino shook his head, 'I've grown up believing you're the bravest, greatest man in the world. But now I see you're just a coward.' He stood up and began to leave the room.

'Don't you dare disobey me,' yelled Romulus, 'I forbid you from going. You got that? If I see or hear any more of this you're on the street! I will not jeopardise the safety of this family for your silly ideas! You hear me?'

'Loud and clear,' mumbled Lovino, making his way into his room. Once alone, he flopped onto his bed and hugged a pillow, sobbing quietly into it.

'Why is he so against this?' Lovino whispered, 'I'm just trying to help. It's nothing serious, just an adventure. He's always saying I don't do anything but when I try he gets angry…' he gave a shout, throwing the pillow at the wall, 'why won't he let me make my own fucking decisions? I'm sixteen dammit!'

'Hey, Lovi?'

Lovino turned around to find Francis standing awkwardly in the doorway.

'What do you want?' he spat, 'ain't even your fucking bedroom what are you doing here?'

'I want to join,' whispered Francis, 'let me join Sadik's gang, please? Gilbert was one of my closest friends and he didn't deserve what happened to him, neither did Ludwig or my dear sister. I want to get my revenge.'

'You think it's a good idea?' asked Lovino, sitting up.

'Yes,' Francis came further into the room, 'we need change and we need to act now. I hardly think it's fair to allow my little brothers and sisters to suffer the same life I have. You agree, don't you?'

'Of course,' Lovino couldn't help smiling, 'thank you.'

'I'm joining too,' stated Marianne, appearing in the doorway.

'Us too!' Alfred and Mathew bounded into the room, 'we want to kick some royal ass!'

'He killed my fiancé,' added Marianne, 'that's unacceptable and I refuse to rest until the Emperor's dethroned.'

'Wow, thank you all!' cried Lovino.

'What about me?' asked Feliciano, peering in through the doorway, 'can I come too?'

'Absolutely not!' cried Lovino, staring at his brother in horror, 'you're too young and could get hurt!'

'But that's not fair,' whined Feliciano.

'I think it's better for you to be safe,' _well, as safe as someone whose family is involved in illegal activity_, Lovino silently added.

'If you don't let me join I'll… I'll… I'll tell dad you're thinking of disobeying him!' cried Feliciano, showing an unusual fierceness.

'Shit,' whispered Lovino, trying to think of a way out.

'But Feli,' reasoned Francis, 'we need you here to help Ludwig. You can't get him better if you're off trying to start a revolution.'

'I guess,' Feliciano looked down sadly, and then broke into a grin, 'but when he's okay again we'll both join and help you.'

'Not at fourteen you won't,' muttered Lovino before adding, louder, 'yes, yes, fine. Just get the kid talking and feeling alright first.'

'I will!' cried Feliciano, 'I won't let you down!' then he ran out of the room, probably off to find Ludwig.

'So, do you think you can all make it to Karpusi's café at seven tomorrow?' Lovino asked his cousins.

'Probably,' Francis shrugged, 'I'm owed some time off.'

'I lost my job after Gilbert was arrested so I'm free until I can find a new one,' added Marianne.

'I imagine we can think up an excuse, right Mattie?' suggested Alfred, glancing at his twin.

'Great,' Lovino flashed a grin.

'But first you have to apologise to your father,' said Francis, 'which is what I came up to tell you in the first place.'

'No way,' Lovino shook his head.

'The man's devastated,' argued Mathew, 'you need to reconcile.'

'Don't want to,'

'Life's too short to live with broken relationships young man,' Marianne looked him right in the eye, causing Lovino to falter, 'he doesn't want to be mad at you forever. You've both said some pretty harsh things and he just wants you to be safe.'

'Um, I guess,' he sighed, 'fine. If that's what I gotta do to get you all on board…' he stood up and wandered downstairs.

Lovino found his father sitting in his armchair, resting his head on one hand with the other resting on the smaller armchair next to it. His mother's chair…

'Hey dad…' began Lovino, standing awkwardly in the doorway, 'just wanna say sorry, for… being a jerk and all…'

Romulus stared up at him with unfocused eyes.

'Lovi… oh, apology accepted, and I'm sorry for shouting too' he smiled weakly at his son, 'come here,' Romulus reached out his arms and Lovino walked over for a hug.

'Love you dad,' he whispered.

'Love you too,' Romulus whispered back, 'so please stay safe and stay away from the resistance… I'm begging you.'

'Okay, I promise,' lied Lovino.

'Thank you…'

…

Hey, been a long time, right? Umm, well I hope everyone had a nice Christmas. Even if you don't celebrate I hope you had a pleasant few days at least.

I swear this is Spamano… I just have to add Antonio… sometime soon. He's gonna show up I swear…

So please review and all tell me what you think. I've already got some great advice and it all helps! And check out my other stories if you want…


	8. Where do all the flowers grow?

Sadik glanced nervously around him, checking one more time that the streets were completely empty before knocking on the door in front of him. It was evening now and the sun had just gone down, so there was less of a chance of him being spotted. Still, he waited tensely for a few moments before the door opened and he came face to face with Eva.

'Hello? Oh, Sadik?' she stared at him with an expression of complete shock before standing aside to let him pass, beaming, 'so you're really back then? I thought it was just a rumour.'

'No, no, it's true,' answered Sadik.

'I can see that,' Eva smiled widely.

'I can't believe how big you've grown,' exclaimed Sadik, shutting the door, 'you were a little child of six last time I saw you!'

'Well it's been ten years,' Eva smiled at him sadly, 'to be honest we were all beginning to loose hope of ever seeing you again.'

'Pah, it'll take more than some wilderness and wild animals to finish me off…' Sadik's eyes became unfocused for a fraction of a second, like he was lost in a bad memory.

'Jan's in his shed, if you want to see him,' added Eva, snapping Sadik out of his trance.

'Oh, I should've known,' he chuckled, 'cheers, Eva.' He made his way through the hall and past the back door and out into garden, which was really just a square of open ground covered in rusted metal, like the rest of the city.

Sadik nervously crossed the garden until he was standing in front of an old, battered shed. He took a deep breath and wiped his sweaty hands on the front of his hoodie. Steeling himself, Sadik knocked on the door.

'Piss off Eva I'm busy!'

Sadik chuckled, 'I see you haven't changed.'

'Sadik? That you?' the door opened slightly and a hand grabbed Sadik's clothing, pulling him inside. He heard the door shut and felt a pair of arms wrap around his upper back, hugging him tightly.

'You bastard,' muttered Jan, 'fucking hell when did you get back?'

Sadik wanted this moment to freeze, and the two of them could just stay here like this, warm and safe in each other's arms. He missed the hugs of the boy, well, man now, before him and was joyful that he was able to wrap his arms around this amazing person in front of him. He loved Jan, still did, it would seem, and hoped it was returned, not that he could ever quite tell with the stoic, man who could easily hide his expressions. People were too quick to write Jan off as 'grumpy' or 'moody', Sadik had realised over the years. Jan was kind, brilliant and had an amazing sense of humour; it was just that he saved those qualities for the people he was close with, making them even more distinctive. Sadik became lost in the earthy, fresh smell of Jan's clothes before he remembered he'd been asked a question.

'Few days ago,' Sadik replied, 'sorry I didn't stop by sooner,' he looked around at his surroundings, 'still spending your life in your shed, I see.'

Jan's shed had no windows, and was lit only by a bulb hanging from the ceiling and a few tiny holes in the roof, and for good reason: what Jan did in his shed was illegal.

Most of the floor was covered by plant pots full of tulips, the only flowers they'd ever managed to get their hands on. People here just weren't allowed to grow plants and the only other flowers in the city grew in the Emperor's own gardens. No wonder the air around them was always so thin…

'Well, I have a job and friends too,' Jan dropped his arms and shrugged, 'well… they're Eva's friends and she drags me along, and it's just sticking up posters for the government.'

'I see…'

'So…' the two stared awkwardly at each other for a while before Jan's face broke into a wide grin, 'it's so good to see you again.'

Sadik laughed, 'it's good to be back,' his smile fell, 'really good to be back.'

Jan frowned, 'were things that bad out there?'

Sadik nodded, 'I've no idea how Kuzey and I survived.'

'Kuzey?'

'My little brother.'

'Ah,' there was silence again before Sadik spoke.

'Hey remember the old days when we were little?'

'And grew flowers here together?' replied Jan, grinning. Neither of them could ever forget finding the first bulb laying amongst the rubbish outside the palace and rushing back to headquarters to inform their parents, who gave them an old gardening book from their library and some soil, of which there was plenty as the underground tunnels were still being dug, and together they grew a flower, identified it as a Tulip and instantly fell in love with it. Jan was just eight at the time, Sadik 11, and the pair felt they were the smartest people in the world. The next year, they used the bulbs to grow more, and even more the following year. For five years, the shed became their sanctuary, their second home. They remembered fondly the blissful, and sometimes sad, times together surrounded by a multitude of fragrance and colour. They'd even had their first kiss here; two days before Sadik and his family were arrested. Before the whole nightmare had begun.

'So, I heard from Arthur that you've been avoiding us…' Sadik began, glancing wearily at Jan.

'So that's what you're really here for,' growled the younger man.

'No, I swear!' Sadik took a step back, 'I just wanted to see you again.'

'You want me to join in on your little plan,' corrected Jan.

'That too, but only because I care about you and I would feel better as a leader with you by my side to guide me. You're a smart man, Jan, practical too. I know you could help us if-'

'No way,' Jan shook his head, turning his back to Sadik and settling down amongst the flower pots, 'I'm not risking my little sister's life or my own for some silly fantasy. You're a fool to ever think you can succeed in this mission and if you're not careful you'll be dead within a month.'

'If that's how you feel…' Sadik turned to leave and had his hand on the doorknob when Jan spoke again.

'You're leading these people to their deaths; you know that, right?'

Sadik sighed and turned to face the younger man, 'that's not going to happen.'

'You poor delusional bastard. You think you can go against the might of the Royals and get away with it?' Jan looked at him in disbelief, 'did you learn nothing from last time? Even if you manage to overthrow them all it'll come at a price,' Jan sighed, 'you cannot expect everyone to be alive and well at the end of it all.'

'No one's going to die in my name,' whispered Sadik, 'I'd sooner have myself killed slowly and painfully than allow my people to be hurt.'

'If this carries on you will end up being killed slowly and painfully, after being tortured, of course. You know, Sadik, trying to make you see sense is like trying to breed a pure black tulip,' murmured Jan, absent-mindedly stroking the petals of a flower in front of him, 'absolutely impossible.'

'No one ever got anywhere by hiding in the shadows and calmly accepting their fate,' Sadik shot back.

'Really?' Jan raised an eyebrow, 'out of the two of us, who has more of a chance of making it to thirty?'

'I'd rather die trying to make a change than live in fear,' Sadik frowned, 'besides, are you, or are you not, growing illegal flowers in here? You think the authorities are going to let it pass if they find out?'

'I have less chance of being caught,' stated Jan, 'I'm careful; I plan for everything. See that bulb? Its run on an independent circuit I built myself, so the authorities don't know I'm using electricity in here. There are no windows, and you're the only one here who knows about it.'

'If you say so,' Sadik shrugged, 'but just remember: if there was no Emperor you could grow all the flowers you wanted. You could do it all day instead of sticking up propaganda for a regime you hate. We could just sit around all day surrounded by colours, just the two of us,' Sadik bent down and placed a soft kiss on Jan's forehead, 'goodbye then.'

…

Meh, I tried to write TurkNed…

I swear this story will start to pick up soon!


	9. Dragging family into this

The next morning, Lovino found himself leading his cousins to the same, tiny café he was in yesterday. Alfred kept up a constant barrage of chatter and questions for the whole journey, demanding that Lovino tell him who else was in the resistance, how Sadik was back in the city, who told them about the whole thing in the first place and other questions Lovino either didn't know the answer to, or couldn't answer in public when there were so many guards and spies knitted into the crowd. Eventually, Francis told him to be quiet or he'd have to go back to work, which shut Alfred up immediately.

Eventually, Lovino turned a corner and the café came into view. He shushed his cousins and slipped inside. Once they were in the darkened room, they were greeted by Heracles, who led them through the trapdoor, along the corridors and into the main hall. Inside, they found around ten or so people all talking amongst themselves.

'Wait here for Sadik to talk to you all and get acquainted with the new people,' explained Heracles, who then turned around and left without another word.

'Hey you made it,' called Carlos, wandering over to the group. Following him was another boy, slightly older than Lovino with olive green eyes, a goofy grin and slightly curled brown hair. Lovino instantly recognised the boy as Carlos' older brother: Antonio.

'So you dragged _your_ family along too?' asked Lovino.

Carlos nodded, 'yeah, Toni wouldn't shut up about the whole thing so I had to agree to bring him or our parents would have heard everything.'

'Hey I'm the older one so it's my job to make sure you're staying out of trouble!' argued Antonio.

'In what universe does 'making sure I stay out of trouble' involve getting into trouble with me?' scoffed Carlos.

'Ah just ignore him,' cried Francis, slapping his friend on the back, 'so,' he added, looking around, 'who are all these people?'

'Well,' Carlos looked around the room, 'over there we have Kiku talking to Arthur, Alin and Tsvetan, I think they're some of the original members or something, and over there is Tino and his mates Aleksander and Mathias,' Carlos frowned, 'that's about it. We're not very big, are we?'

'Hey it's a start,' Alfred shrugged, 'we're still getting there.'

'So do we get interviewed then?' asked Marianne.

'More or less,' Antonio grinned, 'Sadik just asks you why you want to help and what you can do. It's nothing too scary. So why do you want to join?'

Marianne pursed her lips, but said nothing.

'You remember Gil, right?' asked Francis.

'Yeah …_oh_,' Antonio looked away sadly, 'of course… I'm sorry for your loss, truly, he was a good man.'

'We know,' Francis gave a sad smile.

'…well you boys seem to have spirit,' said Sadik, coming out of a side room with two young men, 'and I like that. Welcome aboard!'

'So they're in?' asked Arthur, crossing the room, 'oh bloody marvellous!'

'Course we're in!' cried one of the boys, a brown haired fellow who bore some resemblance to Arthur, 'this'll be a hoot!'

'We're prepared to assist you in any way,' added the other man, who had curly light brown hair. The pair walked to another part of the room, talking in excited, low, voices.

'You've made a good choice,' said Arthur proudly, 'my cousin's a good man. That's why I suggested he joined. Of course, Jett never goes anywhere without his buddy William so I had to bring him along too, sorry about that. But then again, we're going to need all the help we can get.'

'Too right we are,' agreed Sadik, then he noticed the new arrivals, 'hey Lovino! Who are all these people? Wow well done lad!' he motioned for the Bonnefoy siblings to follow him into the side room, 'I just need to ask some questions and get to now you all. Then we can start for today,'

After they'd left, Antonio turned to Lovino.

'Hey little Lovi,' he cried, 'I haven't seen you in ages! I hear you're finished school too, just like my little Carlos.'

'Hey I'm not little!' growled Lovino, 'I'm sixteen!'

'And I'm twenty,' replied Antonio, 'so you're little to me.'

'And you're an asshole to me,' spat Lovino.

'Please don't start,' groaned Carlos, 'so… err… your cousins seem nice,' he tried.

'You think?' Lovino shrugged, 'yeah they're okay really.'

'And you never told me they were such a good-looking bunch!' exclaimed Carlos.

'I've never noticed,' explained Lovino.

'You're good looking too,' Antonio piped up, trying to get on the boy's good side.

'Stop talking shit,' Lovino rolled his eyes.

'I'm not I swear-!'

'Okay boys,' called Sadik, re-entering the room, 'oh, and lady,' he added, glancing at Marianne, 'it's time to get started. Now, the idea is to train you all to be fighters and to educate you. today, we will start with some basic weapon-training led by Tino here,' he indicated to Tino, who waved, 'then self defence with Kiku,' he gestured at Kiku, 'so, let's begin!'

…

Roderich ignored everything else in the room and focused only on the keys in front of him. He played with all his might, played for his anger, played for his hatred, love, everything. Yes, music was illegal but Roderich enjoyed breaking his own rules, seeing as no one could do anything about it.

He finished his piece and turned his attention to Elizabeta, the Empress, his queen, who was lying on a plush sofa, the only other piece of furniture in the room. She stood up, clapping and running over to him.

'Brilliant, darling, just marvellous!' she cried.

'Thank you,' he stood up, giving her a hug and running his fingers through her soft, brown hair.

Everyone said he was evil, incapable of love. They screamed it at him before they died, by his hand. It was not true. It could not be true, Roderich believed, as he loved his wife and son more than anything else on earth. But they still cried that he was evil, a monster, and a curse on the world. He felt an immense, overpowering anger at them. They did not understand. The people of his Empire were supposed to love and fear him, not curse them as they fell to their deaths. He felt a malicious, almost uncontrollable rage boil inside him.

'Roddy,' began Elizabeta, 'you're hurting me,'

Roderich saw that he was gripping her shoulders too tightly for comfort, 'apologies,' he immediately let go, a concerned expression on his face, 'are you in pain?'

Elizabeta shook her head.

'You know I would never willingly hurt you?' he felt a colossal guilt wash over him but Elizabeta just chuckled.

'I know,' she confirmed.

Deep down, they both knew he cared for her too much to hurt her, no matter what she did or what emotions gripped him.

After all, he was only alive today because of her.

They'd met when they were seven years old, already betrothed and destined to rule his father's Empire together as husband and wife. She was the daughter of a powerful noble, and chosen as a suitable match for him by the Emperor. Most people described Roderich as a selfish, cruel and malicious child, and he was, but not around Elizabeta; he shared his toys with her and always did what she wanted.

One day when they were ten, they went for a cycle through the palace gardens together, the only place in the city where flowers were allowed to grow. He remembered that she was wearing an embroided shirt, trousers and black boots, and laughed in that beautiful voice, pointing out different species of flowers for him. He'd even picked a large pink one and put it in her hair, causing them both to blush. It was when they were taking a little break that it happened. He couldn't remember much, only that they heard a click and he didn't have time to think before Elizabeta tackled him and he was thrown on his back, Elizabeta pinning him down. There was a gunshot and he cried out in fear but Elizabeta put her hand over his mouth and shushed him. There were more gunshots, some dangerously near their mark, before he heard feet, more shooting and familiar voices. The guards had arrived and saved them. It was then that he realised they were hidden in a bush, out of sight of the assassin. Yes, it was an assassin, it turned out, set out to kill him and leave the Empire without an heir.

He'd never left the palace walls since. Only going into the gardens after more soldiers and guards had been placed along the walls for his protection. He's forbidden Elizabeta and Franz to leave too, out of fear that they'd be targeted.

After his father's successful assassination, Roderich had come to the thrown full of grief and had ruled with an iron fist ever since, lest anyone become powerful enough to attack him or his family.

'Roddy, come back to me,' soothed Elizabeta, 'you're zoning out again.'

'Sorry,' he replied, looking away.

Just then, the doors were flung open and Zwingli marched in.

'Sir-'

'How many times do I have to warn you about entering the music room without knocking,' thundered Roderich.

'I have urgent news,' Zwingli ignored his master's protests, 'we have to summon the council immediately.'

'I see,' Roderich glanced at Elizabeta, who nodded, 'we will go to the board room presently.'

They followed Zwingli through elaborately decorated hallways past hundreds of enormous rooms, grand stairways and detailed paintings of Roderich's ancestors.

'Um, I must ask,' began Roderich, trying to ignore the sudden panic rising inside him, 'this does not concern the young Prince, does it? Where is Franz?'

'Oh he's in the company of my dear sister, Lady Zwingli,' his guard assured him, 'your son is perfectly safe. No, this problem is much greater and affects us all.'

'There is nothing greater than the young Prince,' Roderich corrected, 'but the situation sounds very grave indeed.'

''Tis, I'm afraid,' Zwingli sighed, opening the door to the meeting room where the other council members were gathered around a large table.

Roderich marched over to his seat, a large throne at the end of the table, and Elizabeta and Zwingli took seats either side of him. There were three other members of the council, all were present. Feliks, Arjun and Yao were all sons of nobles, and were there to advise and keep him informed of the goings on of the city.

'So what do you want to tell me?' asked Roderich, right arm reaching into his robes and clasping the pistol hidden there, just in case. His father was murdered by one of his own council and Roderich was not prepared to have history repeat itself, 'I'm sure it's of the utmost importance or you would have left me in peace.'

'Sir, we've just heard news the… err,' Feliks looked away.

'Spit it out,' growled Roderich.

'…we have reason to believe that Sadik Adnan has entered the city,' explained Arjun.

'Sadik Adnan?' Roderich scratched his chin, 'why does that name sound familiar?'

'His family was the last to be sent into exile,' Yao filled in.

'And he's still alive?' Roderich raised an eyebrow, glaring at Zwingli, 'the idea of sending people into exile is that they die out there and we don't have to worry about them.'

'The exile programme was run by Väinämöinen,' replied Zwingli, 'it's his fault that some people managed to survive. In fact, I believe the high survival rate was the reason they were stopped altogether. Having families of traitors remain here in the city is a far more efficient method of keeping track of them.'

'Yes, yes, I know,' Roderich waved a hand, irritated, 'but how did he re-enter the city and was he alone?'

'He brought his youngest brother, Kuzey Adnan, with him,' Feliks clarified, 'but we believe the rest of the family perished in the wilderness.'

'Well that's something,' muttered Roderich.

'As for how he got in,' Feliks sighed, 'we haven't the faintest idea.'

'Do we at least know why?' Roderich's gaze cut through every member of the council.

'Ah,' began Arjun, 'that we do know. He wishes to assassinate you and overthrow the entire regime, and to do that he plans to recreate the rebel group that almost spelt the end for us last time.'

'What?' Roderich paled considerably, 'that's not possible.'

'It is, I'm afraid,' said Yao, 'what do you want us to do?'

'Well… well... find him!' cried Roderich, 'find him and his associates! Begin a hunt! Send out the message that anyone found collaborating with him will be executed! Bring that man to justice!' he stood up sharply and exited the room. Elizabeta sighed, following.

'Do what you can,' she told everyone.

The council sat in stunned silence before Zwingli spoke.

'Well, what are you waiting for?' he barked, 'we have broadcasts to make! Posters to design! You heard the Emperor, he wants this man found!'

Everyone nodded and stood up, making their way out.

'Hey, Yao,' Yao turned around to find Arjun jogging to catch up with him, 'you mind if I walk home with you? We live quite close…'

'Not at all,' Yao gave a polite smile. He was quite fond of the younger man and enjoyed his company. There was just one problem…

'Are you doing anything this weekend?' asked Arjun, glancing at Yao nervously as they navigated the hallways of the grand palace.

'No, I'm busy,' Yao sighed, 'and I have to look after my little brothers and sisters…'

'I know,' Arjun gave a kind smile, 'and I know we may not see each other in the same light… I just want to spend time in your company, that's all.'

'I know you do but…'

'Can I stay at your house tonight and help design posters for the Emperor? I have a few ideas,' Arjun tried.

'I don't see why not,' replied Yao, 'my little brother's always been an exceptional artist, maybe he could help.'

'I'd like that,'

…

Hey, sorry about the delay in updates, but here's a nice long chapter for you.

So, on to human names:

Jett- Australia

William- New Zealand

Feliks- Poland

Yao- China

Arjun- India (well, the guy's hardly ever in fics…)

And as a reminder:

Franz- Kugelmugel

Aleksander- Norway

Mathias- Denmark

So, please tell my what you think and all…


	10. Lying through your teeth

Lovino aimed at the target once more and fired, missing it by inches. Just like every other time he tried.

'Hey, you're getting close,' comforted Antonio, who was standing next to him, aiming at his own target.

'No I'm not,' growled Lovino.

'Don't be so hard on yourself,' added Mathew, who was standing on his other side.

'Less talk, more shooting!' barked Tino from behind them, 'I need you all to know how to use one of these for when you need them. Hopefully, you will also gain knowledge of using knives and hand to hand combat, but I'm not responsible for that, Arthur and Kiku are; I have to teach you about guns and guns only. Believe me when I say you will master this weapon or else. We need fighters who know what they're doing, not silly little kids with no aim or know how.' He shook his head, walking to the other end of the training room.

'I don't like this,' Lovino whispered to Antonio, 'I never signed up to be a killer.'

'Me neither,' admitted Antonio, 'but these things take time. Don't worry, little one, it'll be a good ten or twenty years before everyone's ready to try something big. And there's always the chance of us splitting up and this group ceasing to exist. Or Sadik could be arrested and killed before he has a chance to overthrow the royals.'

'If you say so…' mumbled Lovino, 'and stop calling me 'little'!'

'Okay,' Antonio chuckled, firing at the target, a silhouette with scores on different body parts. The bullet landed in the figure's stomach and Lovino cursed; he had yet to hit his own target.

'Hey when do we get a break?' he asked, 'I'm dying for a cigarette.'

'There'll be no more cigarettes,' snapped Tino, once again overhearing them, 'we need healthy fighters, not people who can't run because their lungs are full of tar and poison.'

'What?' Lovino looked at Tino in disbelief, 'why does it matter what I do to my body? It's not yours or Sadik's business.'

'If you want to be part of this then you'll sort out your life,' growled Tino.

'Okay, fine,' Lovino rolled his eyes and turned back to his target, 'I've been meaning to sort my life out anyway.'

…

'Okay lads,' called Sadik as everyone started to leave, 'I want you all back tomorrow at the same time. As it's Saturday I doubt you have anywhere you need to be- no, Mathias, I don't care if you have a date you're going to be here, got it?- I think we can all agree that meetings can only be on weekends cause, you know, you can't be off work and all. But I expect to see you all every Saturday and Sunday unless there's an emergency.'

Everyone nodded and exited the hall, only Tino stayed behind.

'Hey, Sadik,' he began, 'I heard you have a kid brother and I was wondering if you need some clothes for him,' he reached into his bag and brought out a small pile of boy's t-shirts and shorts, 'I thought you'd like some outfits for him. these are some clothes my little boys grew out of and he'd probably have more use for them than them. I hope he likes blue.'

'Well, he prefers red,' admitted Sadik, 'but blue's fine. Wow, thank you so much. It'll be nice for little Kuzey to wear actual kid's clothes for once. We both appreciate it, thanks so much!'

Tino shrugged, 'hey don't mention it. I know how hard it is raising a child, especially when the whole world doesn't want them alive.'

…

Lovino followed the small crowd, walking along the corridors to where Heracles let them out into the café, then, making sure they weren't being watched, into the street. Lovino said goodbye to Carlos, ignored Antonio and caught up with his cousins. The second he reached the others, he lit up a cigarette.

'Anyone else want one?' he held out the packet, and Francis and Marianne took one each, thanking him politely.

'Don't smoke,' replied Alfred, 'that shit's bad for you.'

'Yes, yes,' Lovino groaned, 'I don't need to hear it.'

…

Once more, Lovino walked through the front door, but this time he was followed closely by four cousins. It felt nice, Lovino admitted, to walk home with other people, casually talking about the day's events, laughing and joking as a group. Carlos, Jan and Eva lived in other parts of the city so they never walked home together… oh; Jan and Eva must've wondered where he was today; they would have sat next to the river all day waiting for him and Carlos to show up. No, they would know exactly where he'd been, especially Jan. Lovino hoped they weren't angry enough to tell the police to teach him and Carlos a lesson. Surely they wouldn't do that to friends, right? Lovino wondered what he'd do in the situation and sighed, deciding to push the matter out of his mind and focus on preparing dinner for the whole family, as was his job.

'Hey, Lovi,' Romulus strode into the kitchen and hugged his son, 'how was your day?'

_Exhausting? Stressful? I have just realised what I've got into?_ 'Fine,' Lovino turned his attention back to the boiling pot in front of him.

Romulus raised an eyebrow, glaring at the boy, 'you weren't… not after what we talked about…?'

'Not at all,' Lovino avoided his father's gaze, 'I was just… err…'

'I was helping him find a job,' interrupted Francis, 'we found some employment for him in a little café across town. He starts on Monday.'

'Really?' Romulus looked at Lovino, who nodded, playing along, 'that's fantastic! Oh it's so good you found somewhere! Now you're safe and employed! Oh I'm so happy for you!'

'Hey, it's just a little crappy job cleaning tables,' Romulus pulled Lovino into a crushing hug, causing the latter to gasp, unable to breath.

'But it'll make sure you don't get into trouble with the law!'

'…course,' Lovino sighed, 'can you let go, please? Gotta finish dinner today, you know?'

…

Yes, I know it's been a long time and I know this chapter is disgracefully short… but I've had exams and other stories and stuff.

I'm not sure if people like my last few chapters, so I've been a bit nervous about continuing this… I'd really like some feedback, just so I know if I'm doing good or not.

Hey would anyone consider doing a fic-trade with me? Like, I'll write a one shot about a character or pairing of your choice and vice versa?


	11. Little families

'We're so bad at drawing,' Arjun laughed as he finished yet another poster. Yao looked over and burst into a fit of giggles.

'Why are we even bothering?' he scoffed, 'it's just better to wait for Kiku to come home and help us.'

The pair were seated at the kitchen table, which was covered in used paper and a pile of dirty plates. Yao would usually have done them straight after dinner, or got one of the younger ones to do so, but tonight he was feeling lazy. That and they still didn't have a range of propaganda posters. Feliks had drawn up a few sketches but on the whole, the council were proving to be pretty useless, something the Emperor didn't tolerate. The pair feared they were only days away from death if they didn't come up with something Roderich would be satisfied with.

'I can produce way better posters than this crap,' scoffed Yong-Soo, one of Yao's younger brothers, sitting at the table along with Xiang and Mei, 'allow us to help! We're alright at drawing.'

'I don't see the harm,' Arjun shrugged.

'Yes, seeing as Kiku's not here you'll have to do,' Yao glanced slyly at his little siblings.

'Hey!'

Yao stuck his tongue out at Yong-Soo, a gesture that was returned.

'Cheng, Kim-ly, Niran,' Mei called into the other room, 'wanna do some drawing with us?'

'No thanks,' came all three replies. Mei shrugged and took a piece of paper.

'So more posters then?'

Just then, Kiku walked in, took one look at the mess of pens, paper and crayons, shook his head and walked into the hall.

'Hey Kiku,' whined Yao, getting up and following him, 'we need you!' he found Kiku climbing the stairs, probably on his way to his room, and ran after him.

'Please, Yao,' Kiku sighed, 'I am feeling very tired now; please leave me to rest.'

'Did you and that Heracles boy have a fight?' asked Yao.

Kiku shook his head, 'no I… I just feel stressed lately,'

'Do you want to talk about it?'

Kiku thought for a moment and glanced at his older brother nervously, 'have you ever put someone's life at risk in order to do what's right?'

'What do you mean?' Yao stared at his brother wearily.

'I… have something I need to tell you.'

…

'Arjun?' Yao re-entered the kitchen, closely followed by Kiku, 'it's getting late and we will not make any more progress tonight. Kiku and I will draft some ideas but you can rest.'

'Oh it's no problem at all,' Arjun stood up and walked over to Yao, 'let me stay and he-'

'Arjun, please,' snapped Yao, then his face softened, 'an issue has arisen and we need to talk things out,' he indicated at Kiku.

'I see,' Arjun bowed his head, 'nice meeting you all again,' he walked towards the door, 'see you tomorrow Yao.'

'Of course,' Yao waited until he heard the front door shut, then turned on Kiku.

'You fool!' he cried, hurling a notebook at the boy, 'you've doomed us all!'

'Please,' cried Kiku, 'just hear me out!'

'Why should I?' spat Yao, 'it's clear enough what's happened. You're in league with the man I've sworn to arrest! Why would you do this to us,' he waved a hand at the younger siblings, including Cheng, Kim-ly and her husband, Niran, who were standing in the doorway after hearing the commotion, 'the authorities will knock on our door in the middle of the night and take us away! We were lucky they let us live and keep our status after our father killed the last Emperor! They will not be so forgiving this time!'

'Our father was the assassin?' Kiku paled, shaking his head.

'Both our parents were part of the old resistance,' Yao clarified, 'and they both died because of it.'

'But we have to make sure their sacrifice wasn't in vain,' argued Kiku.

'He has a point,' Yong-Soo piped up, 'they would probably want us to help defeat the bad guys.'

'But who are the bad guys?' asked Cheng, 'who's side to we take?'

Kiku looked leadingly at Yao, who sighed, 'I don't like this but I have been part of the council long enough to witness first hand the cruelties the Emperor is capable of. We will follow in our parents' footsteps as resistance,' he shook his head, 'I must be going crazy.'

…

'I'm bored,' drawled Franz, walking over to Lilli, 'entertain me.'

the young prince stood in the doorway to one of the balconies overlooking the palace gardens. Lilli, who was sitting in an armchair in the shade of a tall plant knitting, frowned.

'We may be betrothed, master Edelstein, but that does not mean I will be at your beck and call. I have a present to finish and cannot be babysitting you. I'm afraid you'll just have to entertain yourself.'

Franz blinked in shock; he still wasn't used to being told what to do like that, but his father had taught him to respect the young noblewoman who would one day be his bride so he simply nodded, taking a seat in another armchair and watching her work.

'May I draw you as you knit?' he requested, 'your pretty self always makes for wonderful art.'

'That would be no problem at all, young master,' Lilli looked up to flash him a sweet smile, then returned to her work.

'Please, Lillian, you are the future Empress,' Franz reminded her, 'there is no need for such formalities. You can call me Franz, if you wish.'

'Thank you, Franz.'

They settled into a comfortable silence, Franz's pencil scratched away at the paper in his notebook as the needles in Lilli's hand made little clicking sounds as her present took shape.

'May I ask what you're creating,' asked Franz.

'I'm making a scarf for my big brother,' replied Lilli, 'the nights here are so chilly and I don't want him catching a cold.'

'With pink thread?' Franz looked disdainfully at the little scarf.

'Yes,' Lilli glowered at him, 'there's nothing wrong with pink on a boy.'

'Of course,' Franz wrinkled his nose, 'but why one colour? Rainbows are art, you know.'

'Not being too garish or extravagant can be art too,' Lilli shot back, 'Vash likes pink.'

'Very true,' Franz dropped the subject, gazing at the palace gardens and the city beyond it from behind the bulletproof glass his father had ordered to be placed around the balcony to protect them. Franz wondered what it was like to walk outside, what grass and flowers felt like when they were growing in the ground. He was forbidden from leaving the palace, for the sake of his safety and Franz longed for the day that he would become Emperor and be free to walk wherever he pleased, but that would only happen when his father left the world for good, something he feared more than any assassins. Franz sighed and turned back to his drawing.

…

Sorry if you had a long wait for this chapter but I was having a hard time coming up with what to write; anyone even care?

Ok, so on to human names:

Yong-Soo: S. Korea

Xiang: Hong Kong

Mei: Taiwan

Cheng: Macau

Kim-ly: Vietnam

Niran: Thailand

Lilli: Liechtenstein

Please tell me what you think


	12. Searched

Lovino rested his head on one of his hands, drumming his fingers on the table he was seated at in the little café and absent-mindedly staring at Francis, who was in deep conversation with Heracles and Antonio. Seated at the same table as him were Carlos and Eva, who'd joined today along with her brother. Lovino remembered the two of them showing up earlier that morning and Sadik almost crushing Jan in a vice-like hug, gushing about how happy he was that Jan had changed his mind or something. Oh yeah, he'd meant to ask Eva about their relationship, and how she'd managed to convince Jan to join. To pass the time, he brought the topic up.

'Well, it didn't take much, funny enough' replied Eva, 'I asked him about it last night, just to make sure he was totally against it, and he acted kinda funny. I thought he was gonna start yelling again, but he said he'd been thinking about what Sadik had said and wanted to be around him all the time, even if it meant putting his own life at risk.'

'So are they…' Carlos let the sentence trail off.

'You know, I haven't a clue,' admitted Eva, stirring her hot-chocolate with a spoon and taking a sip, 'disgusting,' she muttered, putting the mug back on its coaster, 'they were best friends as kids and spend a lot of time hiding in Jan's shed. They never did tell me what they do in there.'

'I think we all know what they're doing,' Lovino raised an eyebrow, smirking at Eva.

'Please!' she cried, 'I don't need that mental image!'

'None of us do,' added Carlos, cringing a little. They were spared anymore of Lovino's thoughts by Francis, who wandered over and gave them a thumbs-up.

'Well, it's all settled,' he told them, 'you are now employed!'

The trio gave a cheer, though none of them were all too pleased about the whole thing. Still, Lovino needed to get a job to convince his father and Carlos and Eva wanted them all to get a job at the same time, so here they were.

'You have a day's trial run,' continued Francis, 'just to get to know the runnings of the place. Then you can start tomorrow doing half days whilst… going underground for the other half, if you catch my drift…'

'Course we caught your fucking drift,' snapped Lovino, then his face softened slightly, 'but thank you.'

'Eh, it's no problem,' Francis shrugged, pulling a chair over and joining them, 'Heracles and I go way back.'

'And by that he means they had an unspoken competition back in high school to sleep with as many people as possible,' Antonio filled in, pulling up his own chair.

'Who won?' asked Eva.

'Me, of course,' scoffed Francis, 'because I didn't limit myself to one sex,' he added loudly, glancing smugly at Heracles, who just chuckled and shook his head, wiping the counter he was standing behind with a cloth.

Just then, Alin burst through the front door and ran straight towards Heracles, heavy panting suggesting that he ran the whole way there.

'Hera,' he wheezed, 'the army's doing searches of…' he paused to take a deep breath, '… known ex-resistance members and associates of Sadik. They're coming here to search the place in a matter of minutes.'

Heracles paled, but nodded calmly, 'thank you Alin, go downstairs and warn the others to keep quiet and stay there until I say it's safe.' Alin nodded and jumped over the counter, disappearing through the trap door.

'C'mere,' Heracles beckoned for his new employees and Lovino, Carlos and Eva joined him behind the counter. Francis and Antonio stayed put, trying to make themselves as inconspicuous as possible, hopefully the Emperor's soldiers would just think of them as simple customers. Heracles twisted the handle on the trapdoor and the thing came off. He passed it to Eva.

'Your first job as my employee is to hide this somewhere,' he told her, 'without the handle the trapdoor's just a few planks of wood.' Eva nodded and disappeared into the kitchen.

'Should we cover it up with a rug or something just to be on the safe side,' suggested Carlos.

'Too risky,' replied Heracles, 'they'll be checking under rugs and tables for things like this so it's best to treat the door as just another piece of flooring. That means no standing on it either,' he stood up and his gaze moved from one boy to the other, 'it's best you two make yourselves busy, clean tables or sweep or something. Try not to act too nervous or secretive.'

Lovino and Carlos nodded, obeying his orders. Heracles disappeared into the kitchen for a few seconds, probably to warn Kiku of the situation. Lovino made sure he was gone before turning to Francis.

'I'm scared,' he whispered.

'Me too,' admitted Francis, 'but we have to go throu-' his sentence was interrupted by the front door being thrown open and a group of soldiers in the royal uniform entered, lead by Lieutenant Zwingli. Francis and Antonio hurriedly looked down at the table, avoiding eye contact whilst Lovino tried to muster up the courage to talk to them. Luckily, Carlos got there first.

'Hey boys,' he grinned widely, 'what can I do for you? Tea? Coffee? Shall I show you to your table? Table for… fifteen then.'

'No thank you,' Lieutenant Zwingli stepped forward and handed Carlos a rolled up sheet of A4 paper, 'this is permission from the Emperor himself to search these dwellings for any signs of illegal and dangerous activity. Now, I need to speak with whoever's in charge.'

Carlos took the paper slowly, 'right, of course, HEY BOSS!' he jogged over to the counter and called into the kitchen, 'there's an inspector here says he wants to see you!'

'Thank you,' Heracles wandered in, closely followed by Kiku, who watched apprehensively from the doorway, 'ah, good morning sir,' he stopped in front of Zwingli and Carlos handed him the paper, 'I understand,' he went on, 'please do what you need to do. We can't be too careful when it comes to the safety of the public now, can we?' Zwingli just grunted, waving a hand at his men, who immediately spread out, searching the entire building. They searched every inch of the main room whilst others marched upstairs and into the kitchen. None of them seemed to care too much that they were upsetting furniture and breaking almost everything they touched. Lovino stayed at Francis and Antonio's table, asking them, voice shaking, if they wanted anything. Francis took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly; Lovino was grateful for the gesture. He hoped Eva had hid the door handle safely and contemplated dashing into the kitchen to check on her, but stayed where he was to avoid arousing suspicion. Eva could fend for herself.

'So,' Zwingli turned his attention from his men back to Heracles, 'have you any knowledge of the whereabouts of a certain Sadik Adnan?'

'Why yes,' Heracles scratched his chin, 'he's in exile somewhere, probably long dead. Never licked the prick.'

'Don't play dumb Mr Karpusi,' growled Zwingli, 'there are posters everywhere saying otherwise; it's all over the news.'

'Of course,' Heracles sighed, 'I honestly don't know where he is though.'

'Do you know anyone who would?' pressed Zwingli, 'it's vital that you come forward with any information that you know, unless you want to be branded a traitor. While you don't have much in the way of family, we could always do something pretty cruel to your friend Mr Honda if you fail to comply.'

'I have no knowledge of him or those in league with him,' Heracles shrugged.

'What about the boy, Kuzey Adnan? I have reason to believe Sadik smuggled his one surviving brother into the city with him.'

'No, I didn't even know he had a brother by that name,' replied Heracles, 'well… I knew his mother was pregnant when they were arrested but I just assumed the baby died along with everyone else.'

'It appears not,' Zwingli glanced around, 'well, then I believe it's time to see if your colleagues are just as ignorant on the subject as you are.'

'Employees,' Heracles corrected, 'they work _for_ me, not _with_ me.'

'Noted,' Zwingli marched over to Lovino, 'you there. Name.'

'L-Lovino Vargas,' Lovino looked around nervously.

'Vargas, hmm?' Zwingli raised an eyebrow, 'well, do you have anything you'd like to tell me, or will we have to beat it out of you? I hear you have two little brothers. It would be a shame if one of them were to have an accident at school or on their way home now, would it?'

'What?' Lovino took a step backwards, the only thing stopping him from running out the door was that Francis was still holding his hand, 'but I don't know anything! Don't hurt Feli and Sal!'

'Trust me,' Francis cut in, 'the boy is innocent.'

'And you expect me to believe you?' Zwingli scoffed, 'Aren't you not on the best terms with the law at this moment in time, Bonnefoy?'

'What about me?' offered Antonio, 'trust me when I say your scare tactics won't work on Lovi. He doesn't know anything of use to you.'

Zwingli sighed, 'what about you, Fernandez Carriedo? Have you anything to hide?'

'You know me,' Antonio laughed, 'I can't keep a secret. Shame I don't actually _have_ any.'

'Hmph,' Zwingli marched off to interrogate Carlos and Kiku, leaving the trio in an uneasy silence.

'Hey it's okay,' Francis soothed, squeezing Lovino's hand, 'sit down for a bit; you're shaking all over.'

'Sorry,' whispered Lovino, taking a seat whilst Antonio pressed a cup of coffee into his hands, 'I was just so scared.'

'Us too,' muttered Antonio.

'But you didn't show it,' argued Lovino, 'I was all ready to buckle and get the fuck out of here.'

'I was pretty ready to run too,' admitted Antonio, 'look, you're innocent, Lovi. The lieutenant likes to use torture and death threats to get information out of people. It's his style.'

'I thought it was genuine,' mumbled Lovino, 'I thought he was really going to shoot me or hurt my little brothers. I'm such a coward.'

'No you're not,' Francis stroked Lovino's hair, 'everyone gets scared. It's natural, tells us when we're doing something dangerous.'

'If you say so,' Lovino took a sip of the coffee.

…

'That was some close shit,' Carlos leaned against the counter, shaking visibly whilst his brother tried to comfort him.

'Congratulations boys,' Heracles wandered into the room, closely followed by Eva and Kiku, 'we're officially traitors.'

'But please refrain from boasting of it to others,' added Kiku, 'for all of our sakes.'

Francis chuckled, 'so Eva, did you manage to hide the door handle safely?'

'Of course,' Eva chuckled, 'I hid it somewhere none of them would dare look.'

'The skip outside?' Lovino raised an eyebrow, 'cause, if so, it'll be a bastard finding it again.'

'Nope, I hid it down my top! No one's gonna look there!'

'Well…'

'Shut up Lovi!' Eva scowled, reaching down her top to retrieve said handle, 'shall we put this back on the door then?'

'Sounds good,' Heracles took the handle then went to reattach it to the trapdoor, 'we were pretty lucky today, remember that.'

'How can we forget?' muttered Lovino.

'Now,' Heracles wrenched open the trapdoor, 'get downstairs and make yourselves useful.'

…

Yes, I'm still continuing this story, sorry for the delay.

Anyone even care?

Still, hope you like the story so far.


	13. Haunted forever

_Sadik's boots crunched as he stepped on a mixture of sand, gravel and hard earth whilst wind viciously attacked his face, throwing sand into his eyes despite him wearing a mask. The sun glared down on him, burning his skin even through his clothes, and acting as a painful reminder of just how scorching and arid the land around him was._

_He stopped his march, standing silently on top of the hill he'd climbed and looked around for any signs of water or vegetation. He found none. There wasn't even a spot of shade in this barren hellhole._

_Sighing, Sadik rubbed his face while he considered his next move. The man had been so sure water was nearby. He'd promised water was nearby._

'_Sadi!' called a tiny, high-pitched voice from behind him, 'I'm thirsty and my feet hurt!' his six year old brother, Kuzey, stumbled after him, ten metres behind and struggling with each step._

'_I know, little one,' Sadik waited for Kuzey to catch up, patiently watching the boy struggle on. He wanted to aid him, to march down that slope and pick up the child and hold him close, to protect him, but Kuzey needed to learn how to survive on his own. The boy needed physical strength and willpower to get on with life should anything happen to Sadik._

'_I don't want to walk anymore,' Kuzey bleated when he finally caught up with Sadik._

'_I'm sorry squirt,' Sadik knelt down and straightened his brother's hat, 'not much longer, I promise.'_

_Kuzey nodded and watched as Sadik started walking again, 'but my throat hurts and I'm hungry.'_

'_Look,' Sadik turned around and gave a reassuring smile, 'it's downhill from here and the ground's softer.'_

_Kuzey nodded again, stepping off the half-buried rocks he was standing on and into the soft, scorching sand. He struggled onwards, following his brother down the hillside. _

'_Can't we rest for a bit?' he asked._

'_No, we can rest when we find shade.'_

'_But-'_

'_Shut up,' snapped Sadik, 'save your energy for walking,'_

'_But I'm really thirsty and can't walk in the deep sand!'_

'_Try to!'_

'_Please give me some water,' begged Kuzey, stumbling and falling to his knees._

'_We don't have any,' growled Sadik. When he got no reply, he glanced back, and all his anger evaporated like any moisture in the ground. It was replaced by horror._

_Kuzey was lying on his stomach, half buried in the sand and not moving._

'_Kuzey?' Sadik took a few, nervous, steps towards the child, 'okay, you've made your point. Look, I'll carry you the rest of the way!'_

_Kuzey didn't respond._

'_No, don't do this!' Sadik ran towards his brother, kneeling beside him and picking him up, wiping the sand away and shaking him by the shoulders, 'please wake up! I'll find you some water, just don't die on me. Please Kuzey, you're all I have left…'_

…

Sadik realised it was just a bad memory, one that kept coming back up, and he was really safe in his office, Kuzey wasn't at death's door and they weren't in the middle of nowhere anymore. He took his mask off, chucking it onto his desk and rubbing his face. He knew that, no matter how long he lived, the horrors of exile would be with him til his last breath. With Kuzey too. The child in question sat on the desk, swinging his legs over the side and admiring his new t-shirt and shorts, his first set of real children's clothes, donated by Tino. Sadik smiled with relief; Kuzey was safe, and, thanks to the generosity of the other rebels, well fed, rested and cared for. Still, he had to make sure his little brother was really there. He reached over and wrapped his arms around the child, pulling him onto his lap and nuzzling his face.

'Please don't ever leave me,' he whispered.

'I promise,' Kuzey looked up at him with large brown eyes, 'but you can't leave me either.'

'I give you my word…'

'Your time outside's affected you really bad,' commented Jan, who was leaning against a wall of the office, flicking through the pages of one of the books he'd found on one of the shelves, 'you know what this place needs? A little plant in a pot, might brighten it up a little.'

'You think so?' Sadik considered for a moment, 'yeah, a little tulip on my desk would suit just nicely.'

'Might make the place more… you,' continued Jan, 'right now you look like you're trying to become your father by sitting in his chair, commanding a small army.'

'Tu-lip?' asked Kuzey.

'Oh, it's like those plant thingies we'd sometimes find in the ground, remember? Only tulips are nicer and softer and have prettier colours.'

'I'd like to see one,' Kuzey looked hopefully at Jan, who chuckled.

'I'll see what I can do, squirt.'

'Thanks,' Kuzey rested his head on his brother's chest, burying his face in the soft fabric of Sadik's hoodie.

'So Jan,' Sadik looked at the other man expectantly, 'what made you change your mind about this whole thing? I thought you didn't want to put yourself in danger.'

'And what kind of life is that?' Jan raised an eyebrow, 'you were right. It's better to try for freedom and die than live a coward with no purpose other than survival. Just… just make sure Eva stays out of things. I don't want you sending her on dangerous missions and stuff.'

'You have my word that I will do everything I can to make sure your sister stays safe.'

'Thank you,' Jan gave a small smile, 'I promise to do the same for Kuzey, if it comes to that.'

'Much appreciated,' Sadik's smile fell, 'I just hope he doesn't get hurt because of me again.'

…

'Hey, I'm home,' Lovino slammed the front door behind him and, to his surprise, no one answered. He wandered into the main room and found his father and little brothers, along with Ludwig, clearing the place up. Lovino gasped in shock as he took in the damage. Books, ornaments and everything that was kept neat on shelves were thrown across the floor. Several items of furniture were upturned and everything was out of place.

'Holy shit! W-what happened here?'

'Oh, Lovi,' Romulus stood up, arms loaded with torn cushions, and laughed nervously, 'you're home.'

'You call this mess home?' scoffed Lovino, 'it looks like a hurricane's been through here. What the hell happened?'

Ludwig began shaking uncontrollably, and Feliciano gave him a reassuring pat on the back.

'Hey, hey,' he soothed, 'nothing to worry about.'

'Well, err,' Romulus looked around nervously, 'see, we…'

'We couldn't find Feli's other shoe,' interrupted Sal, 'you know, the green ones he really likes. So we searched everywhere for them!'

'Did you try the cupboard?' suggested Lovino, 'that's usually where crap like that's hidden. Was there really a need to throw everything across the room?'

'You know how stroppy Feli can get,' Sal pointed out, 'now be a dear and check the cupboard.'

'Fine,' Lovino walked into the hall again, 'bunch of weirdoes.'

'Remember what I said boys,' hissed Romulus, 'do not breath a word of what really happened here to Lovi.'

'We got it,' Feli gave a thumbs up.

'We'll take it to our graves,' added Sal.

…

Woo! Fast update. So what does everyone think? Am I still getting them in character?


	14. Bosses

'Guys, you gotta hide us, quick!' Alfred and Mathew threw themselves into the room and looked around desperately for a hiding place. Lovino glanced at Antonio, Jan, Eva and Carlos, who looked just as puzzled as he was. The five were sprawled on various machines in a tiny gym they'd found when exploring the dark corridors. It was marked on the map handed out as one of the communal rooms and, since they were free to stay there, had decided to slack off for a bit, exhausted from intense training.

Well, that had been the plan anyway.

Jan soon found the younger ones being idle and set up the exercise machines, saying that they either use them or he'd tell Sadik. They were taking a small break when Lovino's cousins burst in.

'Hey we're working, I swear!' he cried, standing up and stumbling to get on a nearby cross-stepper.

'Our boss is here!' hissed Mathew, ignoring Lovino's panicked babbling and dragging Alfred to the end of the room, where piles of crates full of weights and boxing gloves were stacked out of the way.

'What do you mean?' asked Antonio, following them and peering over the crates at the two boys.

'As in the guy who decides if we get fired or reported has just shown up here with all his mates,' cried Alfred.

'But surely that means he wants to help too,' Eva raised an eyebrow.

'Yes but it also means he's gonna find out where we were on Friday when we should've been working.'

'He'll find that out eventually if he's joining,' reasoned Antonio, 'you might as well introduce yourself now. The both of you can't hide from him forever.'

'What if Mr Laurinaitis fires us for lying to him?' whispered Mathew, 'that'll be two less wages coming in to an already struggling household. You know how hard it is at home Lovi. Tell him!'

'He has a point,' reasoned Lovino.

'Oh come on,' Antonio pulled them both to their feet, 'if you two are getting into the same activities as your boss, you're more likely to get a promotion! Let's go meet him. I kinda wanna see what he looks like now.'

'This is going to be bad,' squeaked Alfred. Lovino and Carlos exchanged glances, grinning.

'Wanna go see too?' asked Carlos, elbowing him.

'Sure,' Lovino shrugged, following the others out the door. Jan and Eva must've decided to tag along too, as they walked just behind the others.

At the entrance to the main hall, Antonio peeked his head though the gap in the doorway, Alfred and Mathew following his example.

'So… who am I supposed to be looking at?' he asked.

'See that big group talking to Sadik,' answered Mathew.

'Yeah?'

'That's our boss and some of his supervisors,'

'I can see why you're worried about annoying him,' Antonio gave a low whistle.

Curiosity getting the better of him, Lovino stuck his head round the door too. There was a group of five people- three men and two women- standing talking to Sadik, who was now in a new suit, provided by Jan. The tallest of the men, whom Lovino took to be his cousins' boss, stood a little further back from the others, letting another man do the talking. He had pale blond hair and soft violet eyes with a large nose, and was heavily built.

'Holy crap I wouldn't want to run into him in a dark alley,' he muttered, 'or at all, for that matter. What a scary bastard!'

'Huh?' Alfred wrinkled his nose, 'you know our boss is the little brown haired one?'

'Oh,' everyone turned their attentions to the young man in deep conversation with Sadik. He was smiling warmly, tucking his long brunette hair being his ear and wore a smart green suit that matched his eyes.

'Well _he_ seems far more approachable!' exclaimed Antonio, wandering in.

'No, wait!' Mathew shook his head, shrinking back. Carlos gave a reassuring smile.

'Hey don't worry,' he punched Mathew lightly on the shoulder, 'Toni's not gonna say anything too stupid… at least I hope not. Oh who are we kidding, that dipshit's gonna get you fired.'

'Ah, Antonio!' Sadik spied the young man and waved him over, 'I'd like you to show the new recruits around, can ya do that?'

'Sure, no problem,' Antonio grinned, 'so what would all your names be then?'

'I'm Toris Laurinaitis,' Toris held out his hand and Antonio took it, 'I own the arms factory by the river. You've probably seen it. Well, it's impossible to miss.'

'Yeah it's that big miserable building, right?' Antonio's brow knitted together as he pictured said building in his head.

'That's it!' Toris sighed, 'apparently there's no funding to spare on making my factory look nice, or at the very least comfy, so it'll have to be an eyesore for a while longer,' his face brightened as he gestured to the other four newcomers, 'oh, these are some of my most trusted employees: my right hand man: Eduard Von Brock, chief of security: Ivan Braginsky, and his sisters: Natalya and Yekaterina.'

'Pleasure to meet you all,' Antonio laughed cheerily and shook everyone's hand, 'hey guys, get over here now!' he called to everyone still standing in the doorway, Jan, Eva and Lovino tentatively made their way forward. Lovino spied the wedding ring on Yekaterina's finger, so turned his attention to her younger sister.

'Oh, hello miss,' Lovino grinned and took Natalya's hand, kissing it, 'allow me to be your guide here.'

Toris glared and Natalya snatched her hand away.

'That won't be necessary,' her lip curled into a snarl and Lovino shrank back, 'please don't touch me without my permission again.' Ivan and Toris exchanged nervous and knowing- yet slightly amused- glances. Eva just sighed.

'Sorry about Lovi,' she said, 'he's a bit of a flirt when it comes to pretty girls. Tell you what, how about you two come with me.'

'Yes please,' Yekaterina took Natalya's hand and followed Eva into the corridor, where Alfred, Mathew and Carlos were still hiding. They ignored the three boys and began walking, slower now.

'Well, there's the gym, the training room, a canteen, and some bedrooms along here,' explained Eva, pointing to each door as she spoke, 'they're labelled, so it's pretty easy to get around,' she glanced over at the two other girls, Yekaterina, at least, appeared to be listening. 'So what's the story then?' she asked, 'how come you're joining?'

'Well Toris suggested it, Eduard agreed, and as Ed's wife, I decided to come along too and support him. I also have my own grievances with the Emperor, so it made sense to come here,' Yekaterina told her, 'and where I go, my little siblings follow. Isn't that right, Talya?'

'Sure,' Natalya grunted, folding her arms.

'Hmmm,' Eva smiled brightly as she thought, 'well, Toris seems nice, don't you think?'

'No,' Natalya rolled her eyes, 'he's an overly-cheery idiot.'

'Oh he's not an idiot,' Yekaterina airily waved a hand, 'he has his own business, and he's so respectful of all his employees.'

'Only idiots fall in love,' Natalya shot back.

'In… I see,' Eva gave a sly smile, 'nothing wrong with a bit of love, missy. Still, it's up to you, it's always up to you who you like, remember that.'

'Noted.'

…

'So, can anyone tell me why two of my employees are hiding behind the door,' Toris raised an eyebrow, staring at Alfred and Mathew curiously.

'Ah, they weren't too sure about how you'd react to their presence,' Jan filed in, so ran and hid.'

'Oh there's no problem at all,' Toris cupped his hands and called over to them, 'I can see you, you know?'

Alfred laughed nervously and bounded over, 'ha, I knew that, just didn't want to overcrowd you, you get me?'

'Indeed,' Toris stared evenly at the boy until Mathew and Carlos joined them.

'So, this is where you have been all along?' inquired Toris. Antonio and Carlos exchanged glances and wandered over to Lovino, who was slouched at a table sulking.

'Erm… how did you know?' asked Alfred.

'Bonnefoy, please,' Toris sighed, 'do you really think I believe that you two were feeding your pet rock for the whole of Friday?'

'You said you'd given him a decent excuse!' accused Mathew, pointing a finger in Alfred's face.

'It was!' Alfred protested, 'rocks need to eat too!'

'While I understand this is a very good cause- this group, not the pet rock-,' Toris cut in, 'I'd appreciate it if you didn't lie to me. In future, if certain… shall we say, issues, arise, just tell Ivan, Ed or myself and we'll understand.'

'Got it sir,' Alfred gave a little salute.

'If you don't mind me asking,' began Mathew, 'why did you join? You never seemed to be the kind of guy who'd go against a regime.'

'Not at all, Mathew,' Toris gave a warm smile, 'it's for my friend, Raivis. He was one of the emperor's more tragic victims. You see, we were close friends as children and the kid's family were accused of treachery after the fall of the old resistance and put to death. Little Raivis was only ten at the time so was sent down to the mines to be worked to death, like the other children, and that was the last the I saw of him, but I heard he'd tried to overpower his captors and escape with a few others, but was caught and put to death, with his body left as an example of what would happen to others who thought it would be a good idea to follow him,' Toris sighed, turning his head to hide tears, 'the poor boy was a few years younger than me and didn't even get a proper burial, let alone a chance to reach adulthood.'

'Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that sir,' Mathew bowed his head and Alfred copied.

'Don't be,' Toris gave a small, sad smile, 'it wasn't your fault,' there was silence for a few moments before Toris spoke again, 'look, it happened a long time ago, so don't dwell on it. Raivis shan't ever be forgotten, but there are bigger things to look to.'

'We understand sir,' replied Alfred.

'So, what about you?' asked Ivan, 'why did you and your relatives join?'

'Because it was the right thing to do,' Alfred shrugged, 'I… well I want to save everybody. I know that's dumb, and people will probably end up getting killed a lot and that's out of my control but, it's gotta be better in the long run, right? If I die so mine and other people's kids can grow up free, then so be it!'

'Nicely said,' commented Eduard, 'I too hope that mine and Yekaterina's future children will grow up in a completely different world to us. If they can just live their lives safe and happy, with no police and death and royals, then I will proudly say my life has been a success.'

'Too right!' Alfred held up his hand for a high-five, which Eduard returned.

'Oy! No fighting!' Sadik snapped, storming over to Lovino, who was trying to choke Antonio whilst Carlos shouted at the both of them.

'Oh come on!' whined Lovino, 'I wasn't really hurting him! It's just he would not shut the fuck up about how cute I was and it was kinda fucking unnerving! And that stupid grinning face is just asking for a punch!'

'I don't care,' Sadik rubbed the bridge of his nose, 'look, Vargas, you haven't taken anything seriously since the moment you got here. Don't think I haven't been watching you! Yes, you're not the only one, but you're one of the worst!'

Lovino opened his mouth to protest but Sadik silenced him with a wave of the hand, 'do you even want to be here?'

'Yes-'

'Well it looks like you don't!'

'Oh he's always like that,' Carlos cut in.

'Nonetheless,' continued Sadik, 'all you've done is whine and loaf about,' he paused for a second, glaring at Lovino closely, 'have you been smoking? I can smell it on your clothes.'

'N-' Lovino closed his mouth and sighed, 'yes, sir.'

'Even after I said how awful it was for your health?'

'Yes, sir.'

'Why are you even here, Vargas?'

'I… don't know sir,' replied Lovino honestly, 'I just… kinda joined because Carlos was and I thought it'd be fun.'

'Fun?' Sadik's eyebrows shot up, 'so this is all a game to you?'

'Not any more!' protested Lovino, 'I know differently now!'

'Look, sir,' Antonio cut in, 'just give him another chance. I assure you Lovi is as dedicated as the rest of us!'

Sadik paused for a moment, then sighed, running a hand through his dark hair, 'one week, Vargas. You have one week to prove your loyalty here before you're out!' he turned and began to walk over to his office, 'I'll be keeping my eye on you. On all of you.'

'Understood,' Lovino groaned, sinking back into his chair.

…

So, sorry for the lack of updates, been busy and all. Not much to say, except please give feedback.


	15. Leadership skills

'So you're telling me,' began Sadik, leaning back in his chair, 'that you, the eldest son of the late Noble and Lady Honda-Wang, want to pledge your undying alliance to my cause?' He raised his eyebrow cynically, staring at the slightly older man in front of him. This morning, Kiku had shown up with his entire family and Sadik thought it best to talk to the oldest one, and head of the family, first, and if he passed, the younger ones later.

They were sitting in his little office, opposite each other with a desk between them. On the desk stood a single, lone pot containing two pink and yellow tulips, smuggled in by Jan. The tiny plants were a source of great fascination amongst the resistance, as it was the first time most of them had seen a living plant before. Sadik had to practically drag Kuzey, who loved the little flowers to bits, out of the office to talk to Yao alone.

He studies the man closely. Yao Honda-Wang was young, and looked younger than Sadik even, but the way he carried himself, the way he spoke, calmly, always thinking, showed wisdom beyond his years. Even sitting, he held himself proudly and was dressed like the respectable young noble he was, red and gold, with his long hair tied neatly in a ponytail. If he had been of any other class, then Sadik would have welcomed him immediately, but being a noble, and one of the Emperor's own court, the man would have to prove he was trustworthy.

'The emperor is as much my enemy as he is yours,' stated Yao firmly, 'I may be his personal doctor, but I am treated as nothing. Apparently, the opinion of a professional is worth very little when it disagrees with that of an ignorant authority figure.'

'For instance?'

'Well,' Yao thought for a moment, 'as a council member it is my job to also advise the Emperor on day to day matters.'

'Naturally,'

'But when I suggested that the arranged marriage between the Young Prince, Franz Edelstein, and Lady Lillian Zwingli was not the best course, he threatened me.'

'You do not think they are good for each other?' asked Sadik, 'I mean, if I had spent the past ten years in the city as a normal person, then I would probably follow the young couple's progress and life as escapism, just like everyone else seems to have a fixation on the lives of two people who care little for them.'

'Well,' began Yao, glancing nervously around the room and avoiding Sadik's eyes, 'it is just that the Prince is so young, thirteen now, and the lovely Miss Lady Zwingli is far too old and mature at seventeen-'

'I sense an ulterior motive,' commented Sadik, resting his chin on his hands, eyebrows raised in amusement.

'I can assure you there is none whatsoever,' Yao frowned, 'I just don't feel they are right for each other. And it's not so much that as the fact that my opinion wasn't even considered, I could live with, and even understand, that, but when the Emperor refuses my medical advice too. _That_ is what I cannot stand most. If you're looking for another example, I once recommended that he should not wear glasses. He clearly did not need them and was only using them for a visual purpose, to look more interesting, per say, and I told him so, explaining calmly and sensibly that they will damage his eyesight for real if he continues to use them unnecessarily. And what did he do? Tie me to a pipe by my hair and leave me! I swear, if Arjun hadn't rescued me…' Yao sighed, trying not to think of the look of horror on his friend's face when he'd found him in that state, 'that, and he likes to remind me of a debt I owe him.'

'Debt?' Sadik shook his head, 'I don't want people in the Emperor's debt. Too unreliable, if you don't mind my saying so.'

'Well it's not so much debt as blackmail material, clarified Yao, 'you see, it was my father, the late Noble Honda-Wang, who shot his father, the previous Emperor. He thinks that by choosing to only kill him and my mother, he is doing my siblings and I a tremendous favour and that we will be undyingly loyal to him.'

'And you do not see it that way?'

'Not at all,' Yao wrinkled his nose, 'he did essentially execute my parents. Besides, the way he treats me, I owe him nothing.'

'I see,' Sadik shrugged, 'well, I don't really see a problem about letting you and your family on board.'

'Thank you,' Yao gave a small smile, 'I promise to help in any way that I can. Hmm, my family is quite high up on the social ladder, so maybe I can provide some of the funding.'

'Funding?' Sadik raised an eyebrow, 'I need financial support?'

Yao stared at the man with an expression of disbelief, 'how do you expect to subsidize a campaign without money? Posters, pamphlets, weapons, it all needs credits!' Credits being the name of Eurasian currency, and took the form of plastic coins. Sadik, being in exile for the past ten years, had none of that. Not that anyone could know; Sadik worried he wasn't being taken seriously as it was without more failures cropping up.

'Of course!' Sadik groaned, burying his head in his hands, 'how could I forget?'

'You don't know much about this whole revolution thing, do you?' commented Yao.

'Hey I'm trying,' Sadik sighed, 'it's just… hard, trying to remember everything my father did and trying to add to that so history won't repeat itself.'

'Well, you shan't have to worry about funding any more,' Yao smiled reassuringly, 'don't worry; you'll soon get the hang of it.'

'Thanks,' mumbled Sadik.

'In addition,' continued Yao, 'I have inside knowledge of the goings on in the palace. A person would be a fool to deny that's a strategical advantage.'

'You're right,' Sadik grinned, 'I think that might well be the best bit of news I've had in a long time.'

'I am a professional doctor,' added Yao 'and so are my brother Cheng and sisters Mei and Kim-ly. From what I hear of this group's future plans, you'll need trained medics, yes?'

There was a pause before Sadik spoke again, a pained expression on his face, 'yes, maybe, though I endeavour to keep casualties to a minimum.'

'How?' questioned Yao.

'I… don't know yet,' admitted Sadik, 'but there were masses of deaths and lives ruined last time and I don't want it to be like that again, you know? I had to watch my parents and little brothers die when the old group was crushed and cannot bear to see that happen to anyone else.'

'I understand,' Yao sighed, 'I wish to keep my siblings out of harm's way but, their determination is so strong I fear they do not care if they die as long as it's for the right cause. They are young, and feel almost invincible. They are also, however, old enough to make that decision themselves. It'll pain me, but I have to let them go and make their own way in life.'

'I won't let anything happen to them,' promised Sadik.

'Don't make promises you know you can't keep,' Yao looked at him harshly, 'it's one thing for me to deny that harm could come to my family, but its another thing altogether for you to start doing it too.'

'Understood, apologies.'

'Accepted,' Yao smiled and stood up, 'you seem like a busy man so I shan't be keeping you any longer.'

'Of course,' Sadik sighed, 'thank you, Yao, for everything.'

'Not at all.'

…

Later that morning, Sadik heard and knock on the door and sat up. Yao's siblings were, albeit a genuinely pleasant bunch, hard work and the man was pretty exhausted already. On the desk next to the plant pot sat a small pile of propaganda posters, courtesy of young Kiku, to try and win the public over. There was a wide range, commenting on different flaws in the Emperor's regime and designed to spark resentment into the hearts of the people.

'Come in,' he called and watched as Heracles slowly entered, 'yeah?' Sadik frowned slightly, 'what's happened now?'

'Nothing,' Heracles sat in front of the desk and looked at him, 'its just… there's a matter I wish to discuss with you.'

'Go ahead,' Sadik waved a hand, leaning back, 'I'm glad you're comfortable enough to bring up any concerns.'

'I wouldn't say being comfortable was the reason I wish to bring up these concerns, Heracles contradicted, 'I do so out of necessity. After all, no one here wishes to be caught or killed just yet.'

'I see,' there was a pause before Sadik spoke again, 'well you make a valid point and you should know that you can speak freely here. We are planning to set up a democracy, after all. Is there a flaw in my leadership?'

Heracles remained silent for a moment; Sadik took that to mean _yes_, 'look, I might as well get it over with, right?'

'If you insist,'

'Whilst, in many of the ancient cultures from before the floods that I have studied accepted and even encouraged strong romantic bonds amongst soldiers, a leader in a relationship is not always a good thing. Whilst a stronger emotional, either romantic or platonic, bond between the men and women can create a dedicated, exceptional fighting force, a leader needs a clear head to make decisions without the heart interfering.'

'Are you saying I should break it off with Jan?' demanded Sadik, prickling with irritation.

'No. After all, it is only his devotion to you that allowed him to consider joining us,' Heracles sighed, 'I am merely suggesting, and Kiku agrees, that you should distance yourself from him. Do not allow your feelings for this man to cloud your judgement.'

'So you and Kiku have been ganging up on me behind my back then?' pressed Sadik.

'Not at all; we simply discussed our concerns and came to the same conclusion.'

'Well, it wasn't a very good conclusion,'

'Please, Adnan,' implored Heracles, 'just take some advice for once in your life. Stop being so stubborn and try to see from our point of view.'

'I understand,' Sadik groaned, 'fine, fine, I'll think about it, happy?'

'Content,'

'Yeah, yeah,' Sadik waved a hand, 'get out of here.'

Heracles chuckled, then stood up to leave.

'Hey, Hera,' called Sadik.

'Yes?'

'What if it was the other way around?' Sadik tilted his head to the side, 'if you were the big boss man in the chair and I was the one giving advice. Would you end what you have with Kiku to keep the group happy?'

'Of… course.'

'Don't lie,' Sadik let out a short, humourless laugh, 'you wouldn't be able to do it. I could mock you, everyone could hate you, and your feelings for him would never go away.

'Possibly,' Heracles' expression was guarded, 'your point being?'

'How do you expect me to do the same?'

'I don't expect you to,' Heracles sighed, 'and I don't think for a moment love can just go away on command, but just put a bit of distance between yourself and Jan, at least until this is all over. Do you think you could manage that?'

'Do you think you could be a bit less patronising?' Sadik shot back, 'but you've argued your case well. I will try to hold back on the emotion, if only for the wellbeing of us all.'

'That is all I ask,' Heracles left the office, leaving Sadik alone with his thoughts. He glanced at the pile of posters again; _well_, he thought, _those things weren't going to distribute themselves_. Sighing, he stood up, collecting the advertisements, and strode out of the office.

…

Yo, so long time no see, huh? Sorry for the delay; I've been really, really, busy lately and had other stories to do, ah well, you know.

So anyway, advice and feedback would be much appreciated, and I'd like to know if I'm getting everyone in character. I'd also like to know what you want to see happen in the story, or how you'd like to see a character portrayed. I kinda like portraying characters in different situations to what's normal, so yeah please send in suggestions.


	16. Propaganda

'Hey guys, can you help me with something?' Antonio bounded over to Lovino and Carlos, carrying a large basket in his arms. The two boys were sat on the stage at the back of the hall, feet dangling over the edge in idle conversation.

'Huh?' Carlos wrinkled his nose, 'not more food samples, is it? You really need to stop overfeeding me.'

'Ah come on!' scoffed Antonio, 'there's nothing wrong with your weight,'

'He's right,' Lovino shrugged, 'besides, food's still food. Dad's always telling me to eat whenever I can and all that crap. You never know when it could get scarce.' Lovino surprised himself with how much he talked like his father. Still, he was the oldest child so it was up to him to pass on whatever wisdom Romulus Vargas had, which usually touched on subjects like food, fighting and love.

'Exactly!' Antonio pulled out a jug of milk, eggs, bread and vegetables from the bag, 'look, my company's come up with a new recipe for synthesised foods and they want to hear feedback from consumers!'

'Does the food still taste like shit?' Lovino eyed the basket sceptically.

'Hopefully not,' Antonio chuckled and handed him a slice of bread and a bowl of cherry tomatoes, 'hey, maybe you can make yourself a sandwich, okay?'

'Sure,' Lovino shrugged, reaching into the basket for a small tub of butter.

Carlos peered into the basket hopefully, causing Antonio to chuckle.

'Yes, I got ice cream for you too,' he laughed heartily and handed a tub, along with a spoon, to Carlos, 'new flavour: mint! Pretty popular in the old days, apparently.'

'Cheers man,' Carlos began to dig in, shuffling away from the others.

'Oh come on!' cried Antonio, 'we're not going to steal your damn ice cream!'

'Shut up!' Carlos shot back, 'you're always eating off people's plates! I'm surprised no one's broken your hand because of it yet.'

'He's right you know,' a voice piped up from behind Carlos, 'food is serious business.'

'Huh?' Carlos turned around to find Mathew grinning at him, 'see,' he said, turning to Antonio, 'this guy gets it,'

'Hey Matt,' greeted Lovino, dipping a hand into the basket and pulling out another tub, 'want some experimental fake food?'

Mathew laughed, 'sure, why not? It won't have any side effects, right?'

'Not that I know of,' answered Antonio, 'we just need to test for taste, that's all.'

'Oh good,' Mathew wandered over to his twin, 'hey Al, free food!'

'Okay,' Carlos turned back to the other two, 'who the fuck is that guy?'

'My cousin,' Lovino raised his eyebrow, 'you know, Mathew? One of the twins. You've met him before!'

'Oh, sorry,' Carlos chuckled, 'your relatives kinda all look the same.'

'You don't think I fucking know that?' Lovino shrugged, 'still, Matt's a decent guy.'

…

'I'm still not sure if I'm okay with your outfit,' Jan repeated, glancing nervously at Eva. The pair were walking along the dark corridor towards the main hall, running a little late due to an argument over Eva's attire.

'Well it's not up to you,' stated Eva, fixing the straps on her top, 'so what if I'm wearing short shorts and a tank top?'

'Don't you think it's a little-?'

'Don't you dare call what I'm wearing inappropriate,' Eva growled, 'I'll wear what I want, thank you very much! I feel awesome and pretty and powerful in my clothes, so shut up.'

'People might stare at you,' Jan tried again.

'If they do you can just glare at them,' Eva joked, 'besides, it's hotter than an arsehole out there, so no one's gonna be covered up anyway. If I have to look at your hairy legs then you have to look at my butt through these fabulous shorts.'

'Fine,' Jan sighed.

'In all honesty,' added Eva, 'your dumbass hair's gonna attract more attention than my cleavage.'

'I doubt that,' Jan chuckled. The duo reached the main hall and slipped inside, discreetly making their way over to Lovino and the Fernandez Carriedo brothers. Lovino was juggling a handful of cherry tomatoes whilst Antonio, arms laden with even more tomatoes, tried to throw more into his mouth whilst Carlos kept score.

'And people say _I_ can't fuckin' aim,' joked Lovino, 'you're gonna have to try harder than that, stupid prick.'

'Well stop moving,' Antonio shot back, hurling another red fruit at the boy, who caught it between his teeth.

'Bout fuckin time,' commented Carlos.

'Maybe we should be a pair of jesters or something when we're older,' suggested Antonio.

'Why? You're shit,' said Jan, sitting on the stage next to Carlos.

'Hey a guy can dream!' cried Antonio.

'So what's in the basket?' asked Eva, peering at the collection of food.

'Samples,' Antonio began explaining about the new synthesised products whilst Lovino threw little tomatoes at Jan out of boredom.

'Would you quit it,' he grumbled.

'No,' Lovino threw another tomato, which got caught in Jan's hair.

Just then, Sadik entered the room and marched straight over to them with a grin on his face.

'Hey, you guys,' he boomed, 'got a little job for you, 'kay?'

The five sat up at that, all ready to see some action and play a part.

'Cool,' answered Carlos, 'what is it?'

'I want you to put these up around the city,' Sadik slammed the pile of posters down onto the stage in between Carlos and Lovino. The small group shuffled closer and picked up copies of the posters to look at closer.

'Hey these are cool,' Lovino whistled, 'who drew these?'

'Me,' answered Kiku proudly, joining them.

'Nice,' Lovino looked again at the poster he was holding. They all seemed to have a similar theme: strong words in red, speaking of freedom and corruption, sinister drawings of the Emperor and Lieutenant Zwingli, drawings of Sadik, holding a bundle of flowers in the air with the word 'resistance'. The posters spoke of equality, democracy, and human rights. 'Hey, Kiku,' Lovino began, 'you have to meet my little brother sometime. Seriously, Feli loves drawing and you could give him tips, if that's okay.'

Kiku gave a small smile, 'I'd be glad to.'

'Cheers,'

'So,' Sadik cut in, 'I want these in every street that doesn't have a security camera. Be careful and try not to look suspicious.'

'Why us?' Jan raised an eyebrow.

'Because you're an expert in this field,' replied Sadik, 'you said so yourself. I'm sure you don't mind giving the younger ones a demonstration in putting up posters.' He glanced at the shoulder bag Jan was wearing, which contained his work equipment, so he could go to work straight after the meeting, 'see, you even have the paste and brushes!'

'Yeah, but,' Jan lead Sadik to the side, leaning in closer to mutter quietly, 'you said you wouldn't put Eva in dangerous situations.'

Sadik's eyes turned cold, 'are you disobeying me? Look, it's not like I'm handing Eva a gun and demanding she shoots the royal family; it's only a few posters. There's no danger so long as you're not an idiot.'

Jan's lips tightened, but he nodded, 'understood.'

'Great,' Sadik turned his attention to the whole group, 'I think I'll refer to you five as team… team…' he spied the red fruits Antonio and Lovino were holding and grinned, 'team tomato! That's it. No, wait, the tomato gang sounds better! Now, tomato gang, go do as you've been instructed.' And with that, Sadik turned around and wandered into his office, 'and if anything goes wrong, I'm holding you, Jan Baeten, personally responsible.' There was no humour in his voice as he said that.

'Tomato gang?' Jan wrinkled his nose, 'if everyone start's calling us that from now on I will personally beat the shit out of you all.'

'I like the name,' Antonio piped up.

'Whatever, let's get on with this,' Jan growled.

The young man wondered if he'd done something to offend Sadik, or if he'd been too relaxed about their relationship. He'd almost forgotten he was just a single soldier in this institution, a private, a foot soldier; the fact that he was close to Sadik meant he'd began acting like he was higher up socially, providing input and helping with decisions, even if he didn't mean to.

'Come on,' he snapped, making his way towards the door and gesturing for the others to follow. Eva sighed, picking up Jan's shoulder bag, which sat abandoned on the floor, and stuffed the posters into it, along with a small pile of pamphlets Kiku handed to her and followed her brother. Antonio placed all the food items back into his basket and the three boys brought up the rear.

The walk to the surface was quiet, tense, and it was only after they'd left the café and were ambling along narrow streets that Carlos spoke up.

'So, Lovi,' he began, 'your cousin…'

'Which one? And I'm not actually responsible for them, you know?' replied Lovino.

'Mathew,' Carlos clarified, 'um, I was wondering if you'd be able to introduce us sometime.'

'I did introduce you and you forgot him,' Lovino shot back.

'Yeah and now I remembered,' Carlos rolled his eyes, 'look, he, err, he seems like a cool guy and I wouldn't mind hanging out with him sometime, okay?'

'Do you _fancy _him?' Lovino smirked.

'What? We both like ice cream; it's destiny!' Carlos grinned, 'look, will you introduce us, please?'

'Fine,' Lovino sighed, 'big sap.'

'Skinny little prick,' Carlos shot back jokingly, sticking out his tongue. Then he jogged ahead to join Eva.

'It's nice to see my brother getting along with others,' Antonio grinned, 'I'm glad you're his friend. He's never been too good in that department, even as a little kid.'

'Huh? Sure.'

'So how did you become friends anyway?' Antonio enquired.

'Well, we kinda looked at each other one day and said '_I see you're an asshole, I, too, am an asshole. Let us be friends and judge people together_',' explained Lovino, 'then we ran into Eva and where Eva goes Jan follows so the four of us became a gang.'

'Cool,' Antonio hummed, 'so may I join your 'gang'? Or 'tomato gang', as so eloquently put by our boss.'

'I thought you'd kinda butted your way in,' Lovino raised an eyebrow, 'which was kind of a dickish thing to do, by the way.'

Antonio burst out laughing, 'it was? Oh I'm sorry!'

'Yeah whatever,'

…

Jan slathered paste onto the back of a poster and slapped it onto the wall of an alley, right on top of pro-royals notice he'd stuck up a few days ago. It felt weird to Jan, like he was becoming almost a double agent, and it made him feel uneasy. At the end of the alley, Lovino peered around the corner, ready to warn them of anyone coming, particularly soldiers on their patrols. Jan took a step back to admire his handiwork, and nodded in satisfaction. The poster looked good: bold reds and ambers standing out from the iron walls.

'Hey, do these look familiar to you?' Antonio stared up at a wanted poster, warning citizens against the revolutionaries. The young man cocked his head to the side, absent-mindedly taking off his plimsoll to shake out tiny pieces of rubbish that had collected in it. Then he replaced the shoe and scratched his leg, hidden under beige knee-length shorts.

'Yeah I think it's meant to be boss,' replied Carlos, glancing up at the drawing of Sadik's face, under the words 'Wanted- dead or alive' and a hefty reward sum, it was somewhat accurate, but flawed enough for Carlos to guess that the people who drew it hadn't actually seen him and were just going off old photos from when Mr. Adnan was a teen.

'No, I mean the drawing style,' Antonio brushed his fingers against the paper, 'I swear I've seen it before.'

'Now that you mention it…' Jan reached into his bag and pulled out another resistance poster, holding against the one on the wall, 'I see…' he sighed and ripped the poster off the wall, stuffing the two sheets of paper back into his bag, 'I guess we'll have to tell Sadik about this.'

'About what?' Antonio looked at him in confusion.

'Never mind, I'll explain later,'

'Come on,' Eva grabbed Jan's shoulder bag, 'we got shit to do!' she slung the bag over her shoulder and reached into it, pulling out a handful of pamphlets and, with the flick of a wrist, threw them high into the air. She laughed as paper rained down around her, strutting through the paper rain, swaying her hips, 'there we go!'

'Will you keep it down,' Lovino hissed, jogging over to them, 'Zwingli and his mob are coming!'

Jan paled considerably and grabbed Eva's arm, dragging her along behind him, 'come on!' he called to the other three. Antonio picked up his basket, then ushered the younger two to the end of the alley and round the corner, disappearing just as a troop of soldiers marched past.

…

Lieutenant Vash Zwingli had always prided himself on his keen sense of sight. It was the thing that, along with nerves of iron and a steady hand, contributed to his reputation of a man who never missed his target, never let details go unnoticed. He could spot anything out of place in a scene; he could line his gun up with a man's heart from nearly fifty metres away and hit his mark. That was what the Emperor wanted: army commanders and guards who never missed. That's why he'd singled out Tino Väinämöinen, and why Väinämöinen was later replaced by Vash.

And it was Vash's eagle vision that now spotted something red gazing at him from the corner of his eye. Curious, he turned around and peered into a small, seemingly insignificant, alley, where a new swirl of ochre and vermillion sat right in the middle of a sea of violet and silver, the usual colours of posters. Strange.

'Sir?' one of his men stepped forward.

'Not now,' Vash took a step into the alley, marching matter-of-factly to the little, insolent notice, fear growing inside him with every footstep, not that it ever showed on the surface. 'It can't be…' he ran his fingers over the image, a family, arms laden with food and grinning from ear to ear under the words 'freedom, democracy, bread'.

Vash let out a snarl, tearing the wretched thing down and wanted to rip it up into tiny pieces, to get rid of it once and for all. But he restrained himself. After all, the Emperor would most certainly want to see it.

'His majesty's not going to like this,' Vash closed his eyes briefly, then sighed and returned to his men, to explain the situation.

…

Okay sorry for the delay in updates and all, and I hope you liked it!

Oh, and sorry if I'm getting Belgium's character wrong, I kinda see her as a sassy, body-positive young lady who doesn't let anyone tell her how to live her life. I also think she'd be quite flirtatious, confident and fond of nice things. Sorry if that goes against anyone's interpretation of her.

Not much else to say here, except please leave feedback!


	17. Education

*Earlier that day*

Feliciano wandered along the school corridor, Salvatorio, Michelle and Ludwig following closely behind. The other students gave them a wide birth, throwing glares at Michelle and Ludwig whilst muttering quietly to each other. Oh, right.

Ludwig's brother and Michelle's brother-in-law had betrayed the state.

The other students had been told by the parents and the news that Gilbert was evil and dangerous, and Ludwig and the Bonnefoy siblings probably were too.

There was also the fact that the pair were not iron level either. Feliciano tried to remember what the different levels of society were. There was jewel (the royals), platinum (which were the nobles), silver (heads of big businesses), copper (small business owners, teachers, doctors), steel (shop owners, journalists), iron (manual labour and rich criminals who could buy their way into iron level), and scrap (the poor with the worst jobs and traitors). Feliciano counted them on his fingers, yes, that was the order. Feliciano and his family were iron, so lived in the iron area and went to school with children from the same level, whilst the Bonnefoys and Beilschmidts were steel. Of course, they'd been demoted after Gilbert's death, and would probably have been sent to the scrap level, had Romulus not intervened. Feliciano wondered how much his father had to pay just to keep his nieces and nephews safe.

Though interaction between the different levels was allowed, and marriage between some levels too, but there was still the feeling of distrust, especially towards higher levels. Feliciano thought the whole system was stupid; everyone contributed to the running of the city, so why were some considered better than others? Heck, people with the crappy jobs should have more respect! They were the ones who had to spend all day in factories and stuff doing boring things they hated. Of course, Feli would never dare say that out loud. He wasn't an idiot!

Feliciano didn't want to spend his life in a factory, in a tiny iron house treated like nothing. Oh no, he was going to get a good job, either with his art or cookery skills. He may not be an academic, but he'd been gifted with enough talents to get by in life. And then, when he had some power and influence, he would tell everyone his ideas of equality, or just paint them instead. Either way, he wanted to make a change.

'Hey we have to get to class now,' Sal hissed, taking Michelle's hand. She was a year younger than him, and Sal was determined to protect his little cousin. The head teacher had put him in charge of showing her around the school, the same way Feli was in charge of Ludwig. Sure, that meant the two new students would be in classes ahead of their age, but at least they would be protected by family, and the teachers claimed 'those steel level children probably are more advanced anyway and if not who cares?'.

'Oh, right,' Feli gave his brother a warm smile waving goodbye and linking Ludwig's hand in his, 'come on, I'll show you to our classroom. First day of school together, huh?'

Ludwig nodded, still not speaking.

'I think it's best if you sit at the back with me,' suggested Feliciano, dragging Ludwig into their classroom, 'that way the teacher might not call on you,' Ludwig nodded again. The pair sat on the same table, right at the back next to the map of the city. Feliciano loved staring at the map. It was round, like the city and contained everything to the outer walls. The boys loved the pure detail of it, the effort that must have been put into creating it. The river ran, twisting and turning, through the centre like a crooked smile, the Golden Square being the nose. Feliciano couldn't find anything to be the eyes yet, but he could see his house. In fact, he knew every little side street and alley in the city, and remember where everything was. Feli wondered if that's why he was so forgetful; his head was too full of geography, as well as art styles and recipes.

Feliciano realised he'd zoned out again, and turned his attention to Ludwig, who was slowly, carefully, unpacking his books and pencils, placing them slowly on the desk. Feliciano wondered if he had a special system of getting his school equipment out, or was just scared of drawing attention to himself.

Not that anyone noticed them.

The few teens already in the classroom were chatting animatedly amongst themselves, sprawled on simple, metal tables and chairs.

The room wasn't painted, and only decorated with maps, timetables and charts. There were no windows, the only light coming from a couple of bare bulbs, which reflected off the walls into the students' eyes. A half-asleep teacher was slumped at their desk, waiting for the whole class to get there.

'So what sort of things do_ you_ like learning about in school?' Feliciano asked, turning to Ludwig and giving a radiant smile. It must he terrifying for him, starting a strange new school where everyone hated him, and only a week after…

Ludwig paused for a moment, then opened his notepad and began scribbling, tearing off a corner and passing it to Feliciano, a slight blush on his face.

'Good idea,' Feliciano grinned, picking the note up, Ludwig's handwriting was messier than Feli had thought it would be, but still quite neat, 'cookery and reading, huh? Hey I like cooking too! Tell you what, maybe you and me could do some baking when we get home. I'm sure you know lots of great recipes, yes?'

Ludwig shrugged, giving a small smile.

'And,' continued Feliciano, 'we could visit the school library and borrow some books. Do you have any favourites? We could recommend each other good reads! Hey, you seem like a sports kinda guy-probably the muscles- maybe we could play catch sometime?'

Ludwig nodded, grinning awkwardly. Sports weren't allowed to be practiced in schools- with the exception of those training to be soldiers- but that didn't stop the children of the city from playing simple games in the streets.

'Great!' Feliciano felt encouraged by the response, 'hey, maybe everyone can join in too!'

Ludwig took the scrap of paper back and wrote something on it, but before he could pass it to Feli the bell rang and everyone filed into the room. The teacher awoke with a start and began dictating to the students to be quiet. Ludwig slipped the paper over to Feliciano then sat up straight, focusing only on the board at the front of the class.

Feliciano gave a small smile, and then glanced down at the message.

_I'd love that._

…

'Sadik, you might want to see this,' Sadik turned to Jan, keeping his face blank, and nodded. Kuzey, who was standing next to him, grabbed at his brother's trousers as the other revolutionaries drew closer. The child was still unused to crowds.

'Oh? What did you do now?'

Jan frowned, 'nothing. Kiku, however…' he pulled the crumpled poster out of his bag and handed it to Sadik, who looked at it and frowned, 'has been working for the enemy all along!'

'I see…' Sadik turned around, cupping his mouth with his hands, 'Oy, Honda-Wang! You've got some explaining to do!'

Kiku stepped forward, face giving away no sense of confusion or fear. He walked over to Sadik calmly, Heracles following, standing shoulder to shoulder with his partner, a glare on his face, ready to pounce into action should anyone try to attack the smaller man.

'How may I help you?' Kiku gave a small smile.

'What is the meaning of this?' Sadik thrust the poster into Kiku's face, 'you're working for the Emperor! What do you have to say for yourself, huh? You've one minute to speak before we throw you in the cells!'

'This place has a prison?' Lovino hissed at Antonio, who shrugged.

'You've been here longer than I have!'

'I had no choice,' Kiku began, choosing his words carefully, 'Yao works for Emperor Roderich, remember? He and the other councillors needed to come up with effective propaganda posters or they'd get in enormous trouble. That autocrat has quite the temper…'

'And they got _you_ to help?' Sadik raised an eyebrow.

'It's true!' Yao pushed through the crowd to come to his little brother's defence, the younger siblings stepping forward, but keeping their distance, 'he only did those because I asked him to!'

'I can assure you I would never betray the resistance,' Kiku added, 'I just wanted to keep my family safe.'

'I see,' Sadik sighed, 'so, you're a double agent then, the both of you?'

'It would appear so,' Yao shrugged.

'I have some knowledge of what makes an effective piece of propaganda,' continued Kiku, 'so, while I can come up with striking, effective posers for you, the ones I produce for Roderich won't be nearly as successful. I can use the incorrect colour, word, just make the posters seem wrong to people, and the royals will be none the wiser.'

'Of course,' Sadik frowned, 'I just… well, don't like the risk you're both taking.'

'Aren't we all taking a risk?' Kiku raised an eyebrow, 'even being here is a death sentence, should anyone find out.'

'But it's extra important you don't do anything to arouse suspicion!' pressed Sadik, 'if you're close to the Emperor, he'll have his eye on you. That man's so paranoid!'

'I'm not surprised,' muttered Lovino, 'I mean, look at us!' Antonio nodded in agreement.

'I'm not all that close to the Emperor,' Yao admitted, 'I just work for him.'

'We all know who you'd like to be close to!' Xiang shouted from the crowd.

'Shut up!' Yao hissed.

Kiku raised an eyebrow, 'If you're referring to the Lady Lillian-'

'He's not!'

Sadik blinked, then sighed, 'look, Yao, if you're in love with one of the royals, that could cause problems in the future…'

'It's merely an infatuation,' Yao waved a hand, 'nothing more. I promise it won't get in the way.'

'Yet,' Sadik rubbed the bridge of his nose, 'fine, everyone get back to your business. Yao, Kiku, just… just take care, okay?'

'We know,' Kiku assured him, turning and walking away, hand in hand with Heracles, who threw one last angry look at Sadik.

'So,' Sadik glanced at Yao, 'what do you think of old sourpuss becoming your brother-in-law sometime?'

'I already have one fantastic brother-in-law,' began Yao, 'and I don't doubt Heracles will be one too.'

'Course,' Sadik nodded, turning around and picking up Kuzey, nuzzling the kid's face, 'oh what am I going to do with everyone?' he sighed.

Kuzey shrugged, wrapping his arms around his brother's neck.

'Hey kiddo,' muttered Sadik, 'promise me you won't fall in love, okay?'

'I promise,'

…

Sorry for they delays and all.

Not much else to say here, except please leave feedback!


	18. Heat and storm

'It's nice to spend some time together,' Eva commented, staring over the bridge at the river as it slowly flowed along its course. It was early evening- around four- and everyone was finishing up for the day, thankful that the sun would soon be setting, taking its intense heat with it. The siblings had already finished their respective jobs for the day, and were relaxing for a few minutes before journeying home.

Jan grunted in reply and Eva chuckled.

'So what's new in you life?' she asked, 'what's going on with my ol' big brother?' she playfully punched him on the shoulder, but Jan didn't react.

'You know what's been going on,' Jan glared at her warningly, but they both knew Eva wasn't stupid enough to bring up any subjects that could get them in trouble.

'I mean emotionally,' Eva sighed, 'do you have any worries or problems?'

'I have many,' Jan leaned against the railing, looking straight ahead, 'I worry about money, about you, about the future…'

'About Sadi?' Eva raised an eyebrow, Jan had been particularly irritable lately, and Eva knew him well enough to guess why.

'He was acting distant yesterday,' Jan admitted, 'like he was mad at me or something.'

'Maybe he was just in a bad mood,' Eva suggested, 'he could get pretty grumpy sometimes, even as a kid. Remember that time you beat him in a wrestling match and he didn't speak to you for a week?'

'I know,' Jan bit his lip nervously, watching a long boat loaded with crates appear from under the bridge, rowed by four people with long poles, 'I just can't help but worry…'

'So you should,' growled a voice from behind them. Jan and Eva wheeled round to find Lieutenant Zwingli glaring up at them, 'Mr Baeten, we're placing you under arrest for suspicious activities.'

'What suspicious activities?' Jan felt a stab of fear as the smaller man grabbed his wrists, shoving them into handcuffs. He exchanged nervous glances with Eva; there was no way Zwingli could have heard and understood their exchange, right?

'We'll find that out later,' Zwingli told him, 'this is merely precautionary. We know you were acquainted with a certain Mr Adnan a while ago and would like to ask you some questions regarding his activities and presence in the city.'

'I don't know where he is,' growled Jan.

'We'll soon see if that's true,' Zwingli looked at him dryly, beginning to lead him away, 'things will be easier on you if you say everything you know, so we don't have to beat it out of you.'

Eva glanced around fearfully; was she about to lose her brother?

'Stop!' she cried, grabbing at Jan's shirt, 'you can't take him!'

'You dare give me orders?' Zwingli pushed Eva and she stumbled, hitting the hard ground. Zwingli pulled out his gun, aiming it at the girl's head, 'apologise!'

Eva glared at him, but said nothing.

'Apologise!' Zwingli screamed. Around them, people stopped at glance at the commotion, but quickly moved on.

'Eva, please,' Jan knelt down beside her, stroking her hair, despite being restrained by cuffs, 'I'll be fine, I promise. Don't do this.' Then he was pulled away by guards. Eva was silent for a few more moments, and then she nodded.

'I apologies, sir,' she muttered, not looking him in the eye.

'Good,' Zwingli sneered, 'that wasn't so hard, was it? You need not worry about your brother; so long as he has nothing to hide, we will return him to you, in more or less the same condition.' Then he turned on his heel and marched away, following his guards and prisoner.

'Please come back,' Eva whispered, before hauling herself up and dashing in the opposite direction, stumbling as she became more and more blinded by tears.

…

'You know you're very cute,' commented Antonio, smiling warmly and resting his chin on his hand.

'You know I'm trying to clean here?' Lovino hauled Antonio to his feet by the collar of his shirt and cleaned the table he'd been sitting at, 'it's closing time; piss off.'

'Now, now,' chided Heracles, leaning against the counter, 'be nice to the guests.'

'He's not a guest,' argued Lovino, 'he's a fucking squatter! Dickhead spends his entire days here!'

'Whatever,' Heracles gave a small chuckle.

'Fine,' Antonio gave a mock sigh, 'I'll wait outside for you two,'

'I'm not a small child,' Carlos glared at his brother, 'there's no need to walk me home!'

'Oh,' Antonio pouted, 'are you embarrassed by your older brother?' He leaned forward and pinched Carlos' cheeks.

'Yes- hey- will you get off you sonovabitch,' Carlos angrily swatted Antonio's hand away, 'just wait outside will you?'

'Fine,' Antonio rolled his eyes and walked out of the café.

'Yo Hera,' Carlos called, 'would it be too much trouble if we escaped out the back?'

'Yes,' replied Heracles shortly.

'You let Eva go early,' Lovino grumbled.

'She'd worked hard all day,' Heracles flicked through a newspaper, not looking up at his employees, 'and she actually wanted to spend time with her brother.'

'Don't know why,' Lovino shrugged.

'Well, I think you've done enough for today,' Kiku told them, wandering in from the kitchen, 'how about you two head out. We don't have any customers anyway.'

'Err-' Heracles started.

'Thank you Mr Honda-Wang,' Carlos replied quickly, dashing out with Lovino. Antonio, true to his word, was standing outside the door, leaning against the café wall grinning.

'Thought you could escape me, huh?'

'Yeah, yeah,' Carlos pushed past him, 'come on, it's getting late.'

Antonio jogged to catch up with his brother, until he saw Lovino was trailing behind and decided to keep the boy company instead.

'So,' he began, 'this weather, huh?'

'Bastard hot, right?' Lovino rubbed his forehead, 'I'm surprised the whole city hasn't melted yet.'

'Yeah,' Carlos stopped walking to allow the other two to catch up, 'oh, we need new shoes Toni,' he added.

'Yeah our ones are getting a bit thin,' Antonio sighed, 'I get paid soon so we'll go shopping then, okay?'

'Sure,' people in Eurasia had to wear specially adapted shoes to combat the scorching ground. Of all the things to build a city in the desert out of, why in the name of everything good would you choose something as heat-conducting as metal? Lovino guessed that the weather was a bit more normal a few hundred years ago.

'Do you think it'll rain soon?' Lovino asked no one in particular, 'it gets pretty humid before a storm, right?'

'It better happen when we're all inside,' growled Carlos. When it rained on the city, it rained down hard and non-stop for days, flooding the roads next to the river and causing such a change in temperature that it was near fatal to remain outside when it happened.

Almost as soon as he said that, Carlos felt a cold drop splat onto his left cheek. He raised his hand, touching the raindrop tentatively, and looked at the other two uneasily. Lovino was about to say something, when a drop landed on his nose, and he yelped.

'Everyone back to the café,' ordered Antonio, 'quickly now!'

The three bolted in the direction they came from as it began pouring down. The rain attacked their skin and clothes, and if Lovino wasn't running as fast as he could, he knew he'd be shivering uncontrollably. The path became slippery underfoot as puddles began to collect and steam from where icy water hit baked pavement rose up around them.

'Not much further now!' cried Antonio, grabbing Carlos' hand and dragging him along as the café came into view, 'we can make it!'

…

Arthur cursed his bad luck as he ducked under the bridge, a temporary shelter from the rain. He would not be able to stay there long, as it was right next to the river, and surely the first place to be flooded. He stopped to catch his breath, wrapping his sopping wet suit tighter around him. As a clothes salesman, he had to dress smartly at all times. Most days it was an utter inconvenience in the sweltering heat, but now the thing was weighing him down as it became more and more waterlogged.

He leaned against the wall, catching his breath for a moment. His cousins would be worried by now, wondering where he was. At least, as far as Arthur knew, they were safe at home in the warm.

Through the howling wind and torrential, hammering rain, Arthur heard another sound: a sniffle, a whimper. Curious, he looked around for the source of the noise, wondering if a small child was lost or trapped.

Then he found her.

Eva was crouched next to a pile of crates, the other side of Arthur. The girl was curled up in a ball, dress ruined and hair plastered to her face. Through her tangled mane, Arthur could see her eyes were red and puffy.

'What are you doing out here?' he called.

Eva's head snapped up, 'I got caught in the rain!' she called back. Arthur sighed and took off his blazer, jogging over to Eva and draping it around her shoulders, 'come on,' he yelled over the weather, 'we can't stay here, now can we?' he held out his hand and she took it, standing up and thanking him, and together they stumbled along the riverside path. They had five minutes to get to Arthur's before the cold and rain took them.

Arthur was not prepared to let this stranger die like this.

…

'Open up!' Antonio hammered on the door, but it was locked and the lights inside turned off, 'godammit Heracles no one goes to bed that fast!'

Lovino dashed to the large front window, wiping away the condensation to peer inside the darkened room and banging on the glass with his fists, 'Oy we're out here!' he screamed. Carlos dashed to his side and began to do the same thing.

'Don't let my little brother and friend die out here!' Antonio sobbed, 'they're too young!'

'Give it a rest,' Carlos ran a hand through his long hair, leaning heavily against the wall.

'No!' growled Antonio, 'they'll hear us! They have to!'

'Toni…' Carlos threw his arm over his brother's shoulder, 'give it a rest,' he repeated, more forcefully this time.

Lovino drew closer to the pair. He could feel his body temperature getting lower and lower, and knew they did not have much time. The three of them fell into a heap in the doorway, a makeshift shelter, holding each other close to preserve what little heat they had left. Lovino thought of his father, brothers and cousins, and wished with everything he had that they were safe.

'I'm sorry,' Antonio bawled, 'I've failed you both.'

'You did fuck all,' replied Carlos, 'don't blame yourself! There's too little time for that shit.'

'I'm so proud of you both,' continued Antonio, 'and I know you hate me-'

'We don't,' Lovino squeezed his hand, 'we could never hate you…'

'Thanks,' suddenly, the door behind them fell away and the three landed on their backs. Lovino glanced up to find Heracles staring down at them curiously.

'Yes?' he said, 'can I help you?'

'Good grief let us in you dickbag!' Lovino wrenched his hand out of Antonio's grip and threw himself into the café, Carlos and Antonio following close behind.

'We were pounding at the door and you ignored us!' cried Carlos. Heracles shut the door and shrugged.

'Didn't hear you,' he replied, 'didn't even see it was raining until Kiku pointed it out. Thought it would be best to check for people outside before I barricaded the place with sandbags.'

'Good idea,' Antonio fell to the floor, winded and exhausted, 'looks like you'll be having guests.'

'Excellent,' mumbled Kiku, entering the room carrying a pile of sandbags.

'Sarcasm?' Antonio raised an eyebrow.

'Don't know what you mean,' Kiku shrugged.

'Either way,' Antonio turned onto his side and grinned at Lovino, 'so Lovi, don't hate me, huh?'

'Don't flatter yourself,' Lovino rolled his eyes, 'I say stupid shit when I think I'm gonna die.'

'You know,' began Antonio, 'I think I'm gonna really like being stuck here with you.'

…

Yes, this is robotchild50 here; I changed my username, sorry for any confusion.

Not much else to say, except please review!


	19. Trapped

Oscar- Hutt River

Charlotte/Charlie- Wy

…

'If James has locked that door I'll kill him,' growled Arthur, turning a corner and finally getting within sight of his house. Eva was right beside him, his blazer pulled over her head. Sure enough, James Kirkland was standing in the doorway to their house, hurriedly throwing the sandbags William passed to him into a semi-circle around the door. He looked up when he heard footsteps and grinned.

'Ah there you are!' he called, stepping aside as Arthur and Eva jumped over the sandbags and into the house. James shut the door and whistled, leaning against the wall, 'bastard weather we're having, huh?'

'Yeah yeah,' Arthur growled, 'is the fire going? I'm soaked to the bloody bones. M'teeth won't stop chattering!'

'Oscar's doing it now,' James shrugged, 'should start warming up in a minute,' he looked curiously at Eva, 'who's the chick?'

'Eva something,' Arthur replied, 'Jan's sister. You've seen her before.'

'Oh right,' William smiled warmly at Eva, 'hello, fellow resister. Would you like some soup? I was just warming up a pan before it started raining.'

Eva didn't reply; she just stood there shaking.

'Miss, you okay?' James took a step forward.

'Get her a blanket man,' cried Arthur, 'she's shivering! Get me one too, Jett, will ya?'

'Course,' Jett dashed off.

'Hey we're safe now,' Arthur soothed, patting Eva's shoulder awkwardly. She was wearing a pea-green summer dress, probably to combat the heat this morning, which was now ruined and her summer hat had blown away. Arthur wondered what they would do about clothes for her. Maybe William or Oscar could lend her some. Charlotte was too little for her clothes to fit the teen.

'Don't like the rain,' Eva whispered.

'Yeah it's a bit scary,' Arthur admitted, 'especially when you're caught out in it.'

At the moment, Jett returned with a pile of blankets, 'here!' he cried, throwing blankets over their shoulders and, with William, leading them into the sitting room. There were two children sitting by an open fire, warming their hands: one boy of around fifteen and a girl around eight years old. Jett led Eva to an armchair and sat her down.

'What's wrong?' Arthur asked, plopping himself down into the one next to her.

'Scared of rain,' she mumbled, 'it kills people.'

'Yes, there have been a few casualties over the years,' Arthur admitted, glancing nervously at William and Jett.

'Mummy and Daddy were killed by the rain,' she whispered, hugging her knees.

'I see,' Arthur rubbed her shoulder, 'the rain can't get you now. Don't worry; you're safe here.'

'That's right,' Jett grinned, 'here, you can borrow a shirt and shorts off Wills and we'll have some dinner.'

'Sounds nice,' Eva gave a small smile, 'thanks for saving me,' she added at Arthur, 'I was too scared to move then I was trapped under the bridge and... Storms… aren't exactly the best memories for me.'

'Of course,' Arthur stood up, 'I'll get a change of clothes for you and you can get dressed in Charlie's room.'

'Thank you,' Eva followed Arthur upstairs, 'for… everything.'

…

'And then, right, I says to him 'yeah? Well you're so ugly when you were born the midwife held you up and slapped your mother',' Jett glowed with pride as everyone laughed at his story, except Eva, that is. The four Kirklands, William and Eva were crowded into the tiny, but toasty, sitting room telling stories and cracking jokes. Outside, the rain attacked the walls and windows and the wind howled but inside, the fire crackled and warmed the place. Everyone was wrapped up in duvets, blankets and jumpers, bowls of snacks littering the floor. People ate when it was cold, and Jett hoped the storm wouldn't last for a whole week, like last time, or they'd go hungry at the rate they were getting through the kitchen.

'Hey, tell the one about the time you got into a fight with three other blokes,' requested Charlotte, snuggling deeper into her sleeping bag.

'Oh not that again,' Oscar groaned, 'why are you just encouraging him?'

'Ah shut it you,' Jett aimed a half-hearted kick at his brother, 'now listen up; this one's good,' as he began to describe- in detail- another escapade, Arthur glanced over at Eva in concern. She was standing next to the window with a blanket draped over her shoulders like a cape and a towel wrapped around her head, drying her soaking hair. He could see William's shorts peeking out of the bottom, falling to her knees. Wondering what was bothering her, Arthur decided to strike up a conversation. The idea of a guest in his home being unhappy was something Arthur couldn't bear to think about. With that thought in mind, Arthur rose, slipping past his cousins, and joined her.

'You wear that shirt better than Wills does,' he commented. Eva, dressed in William's old brown, checked shirt, did not reply.

'What seems to be the matter?' he asked softly, so as not to disturb her too much.

'Huh?' Eva tore her gaze from the window for a brief moment, 'oh, nothing much; just worryin' that's all…'

'About…?' Arthur followed her gaze and found himself staring at the looming presence of the city prison, visible to most of the higher levels. It was a huge square thing, made of stone and concrete, used to house prisoners who were being interrogated or awaiting execution.

'My brother's there,' Eva whispered, gaping at the building in fear.

'Jan?' Arthur tried at recall the girl's tall, intimidating older brother. Why was he in prison? And what did it mean for the rest of them? Sure, Arthur found the man disagreeable, but he would never wish… whatever they were doing in there, on him.

'Yeah,' Eva sighed, 'they took him away this afternoon because he was friends with Sadik as a kid. I don't even know if they managed to get him inside before the storm hit but I think he's in the cells… I hope he comes back.'

'I'm sure he will,' Arthur gave his best attempt at a reassuring smile, 'you're brother's tough, right? It'll take more than those idiots to make him crack.'

Eva shot a harsh glare at Arthur, 'you're right,' she growled, 'Jan would never betray the group no matter what they did to him, seeing as that's all you care about.'

'It's a concern, yes,' Arthur glanced at his cousins, 'you're not the only one with family in danger, but I do not wish your brother ill. If it weren't chucking it down, and if Jett and Wills hadn't banned me from consuming whatever illegal alcohol they brew in their spare time, I would probably suggest breaking in and rescuing him.'

Eva chuckled, 'thank you; I needed that.'

'No problem at all,' Arthur gave a small smile, leaning on the windowsill. It was cool, contrasting heavily with the roaring fire and he took a few moments to listen to the rain drumming on the roof and windows.

'Come on,' he said eventually, turning to Eva, 'sit down with the rest of us. You'll catch your death standing here. Tomorrow, the rain will stop and I'll help you look for your brother; sound like a plan?'

'Thank you,' Eva beamed, 'okay then; I'll sit and listen to your stories. Your cousin seems like an interesting man.'

'Yeah,' Arthur wrinkled his nose, 'sorry about him. He's loud but… a good kid.'

'I noticed,' Arthur held out his hand and Eva took it, allowing him to lead her back to an arm chair.

…

'So what do we do now?' Antonio looked at the other two curiously. The three of them were standing in the corridor just below the trapdoor. Heracles promised there'd be food and spare rooms down here along with everyone else trapped by the rain.

'Makes sense to report to Sadik,' Lovino shrugged, 'then… I dunno. It's a bit early for sleeping.'

'Cool,' Antonio grinned and opened the doors to the main hall. Inside, sat around the table having discussions in small groups, were Sadik, Kuzey, Tino, Aleks and Mathias.

'Get caught too?' Sadik regarded the new arrivals with amusement, 'come on! Sit down and get yourselves comfortable.'

'Yeah we were this close to becoming dead meat,' replied Antonio, plopping himself down, Lovino and Carlos following suit.

'Well, we're all ready to get the party started,' continued Sadik, 'Alin and Tsvetan are in the library, and Tino's found a dart board,' he gave a chuckle, 'we don't half sound like a load of old farts, huh?'

'I dunno,' Antonio shrugged, 'can't go wrong with a bit of reading.'

'True, last time I walked past they'd found a bunch of old maps,' Sadik told them.

'Hey that sounds neat,' Antonio nudged Carlos, 'whad'ya say?'

'I wouldn't mind seeing what a dartboard is,' replied Carlos.

'Fair enough,' Antonio turned to the boy on his other side, 'Lovi?'

'Ah what the hell,' Lovino shrugged, standing up. The pair left the hall and wandered silently down the corridors.

'So…' began Antonio finally, 'you like books then, little Lovi?'

'They're okay,' Lovino shrugged, 'I'm more interested in the maps. Do you think they're of the city hundreds of years ago, or the wider area?'

'Who knows,' Antonio grinned, 'I'm excited to see what's in the library.'

'Oh,' added Lovino, 'I should warn you,' he leaned in closer, resting his hands on Antonio's shoulders, 'call me 'little Lovi' again and I'll kick your teeth down your throat.'

'Noted,' Antonio gave a weak smile, 'it's just you're very cute.'

'As you've said repeatedly, amongst other compliments,' Lovino walked ahead, 'I'm perfectly aware that I'm attractive- not cute- so please don't fucking mention it again.'

'Sorry,' Antonio grinned apologetically, 'so which way's the library?'

'Fucked if I know,' Lovino sighed grinning, 'can't be too far.' After ten minutes they found an uninteresting door down a dead-end corridor with the words 'library' engraved neatly onto a plaque; exchanging glances, the pair gave a nod and Lovino turned the handle.

They'd not been too sure what they were expecting. A large, empty hall bordered by shelves? A tiny cupboard stuffed to the brim with books? They found neither. Stand-alone shelves turned a classroom-sized room into a network of corridors, and the middle stood a table, like an island, covered in papers and writing instruments. The shelves were crammed with books and, as Lovino dashed about, scanning the titles, he found them to be about a vast number of subjects, from history to science, geography to ancient languages.

'What do half of these even say?' Lovino rifled through an old book full of letters he'd never even seen before.

'No idea,' Alin appeared behind him, causing Lovino to jump slightly, 'we're trying to translate them, but there are so many languages in this tiny room. You know there used to be hundreds used, before all this coming-together-to-form-Eurasia thing.'

'Really?' Lovino couldn't believe his ears. Everyone spoke with the same tongue here, 'but… what if two people spoke a different language and wanted to be friends?'

'Then they learnt each others languages,' replied Tsvetan, rounding a corner, arms laden with rolled up sheets of papers, 'simple, right?'

'Err,' Antonio peered over Lovino's shoulder, taking in the unfamiliar alphabet, 'sure.'

'So which one is the language we speak?' Lovino ran his fingers over the titles of more books.

'Well,' began Tsvetan, 'from what he understand, our language is a mixture of all these different languages. If you flick through a book, you might notice a letter or word that's familiar, or a sentence that seems grammatically correct. That's because it survived to today's language.'

'Wow,' Lovino let out an impressed whistle, 'so, are there- you know- any books I can actually freakin read here?'

Alin laughed, 'course! We have a fair few from the old republic days. You know, before those Emperor guys. They were banned and supposed to be destroyed but a lot were saved- they were valuable- and collected here. I bet the state would see the whole city destroyed to get their hands on the writings here,' he grinned at the thought, 'there's stuff all about the old days before the floods and science and religion and history. Seriously,' he grabbed Antonio and Lovino by their hands and dragged them to another section of the room, 'pick up a few and have a read!'

'Err, okay,' Lovino took a small hard-back book off a shelf and glanced at the cover. Transport, huh? He wandered back to the table and settled down to read, instantly taken in by the detailed diagrams. Apparently, people hundreds of years ago had come up with elaborate ways to get about, enabling them to cross land, sky and sea to reach to every corner of the earth. Lovino wondered why no one had thought to adapt a few of these around the city. Sure, there were boats and bicycles, but they weren't really enough for a city forced to walk everywhere in the blinding sun. Lovino began coming up with a system perfect for the city: trains in the sky. Not flying, but supported by rails above the buildings, so people could get from one end of the city without having to knock down houses or clog up pathways. Lovino mentally congratulated himself on his cleverness, and began sketching his idea on a piece of scrap paper he found on the table.

'Say, that's not half bad,' Tsvetan slid into the seat next to him, giving a warm smile.

'Cheers,' Lovino didn't look up, 'my brother's the real artist of the family though. He would love this, all the diagrams. I'm not sure how to put it into words, but if his mind was a picture, it would probably be a complicated artistic diagram, but more colourful.'

'That makes sense. But his ability doesn't mean you don't have talent,' Tsvetan reminded him.

'Yeah,' Lovino agreed, 'still proud of him though. Sal too. I dunno; my little brothers are my pride and joy, but don't tell them I said that,' he added quickly, 'I'd never hear the end of it.'

'Noted,' Tsvetan grinned, 'you worried about them?'

'Course,' Lovino sighed, 'it's dangerous outside. Damn near got myself killed just now. Just hope they were inside. I mean, they would have finished school by then but, hopefully they went straight home. And even then they'll be worried sick. Dad will too. And the cousins. Haven't a clue where they all are…'

'It sounds like you care very deeply for them,' Tsvetan looked away sadly.

'What about you?' asked Lovino, 'you worried about everyone back home?'

'There's no one back home,' Tsvetan told him, 'that's the thing. Just me and Alin now…'

'Oh, sorry to hear that,' Lovino looked away awkwardly.

'Hey, don't worry about it,' Tsvetan shrugged, 'it appears you got enough to fret about as it is,' there was a pause before he spoke again, 'speaking of Alin, I wonder where he's got to.' The young man stood up and disappeared among the shelves.

A few minutes passed before Lovino was interrupted again.

'Hey check this out,' Antonio skidded into Tsvetan's unoccupied seat, clutching a large sheet of paper.

'Can't I have five minutes to read in peace?' growled Lovino.

'But I found this really cool map,' Antonio spread the chart over the table, 'it shows the world before and after the floods.'

Lovino had to admit he was intrigued, and stared at the map. There were two ovals, one almost completely filled with stretches of land and names seas and cities and countries in different colours, the other? Almost empty. Only two of the continents had made it onto the second map: Europe and Asia, and they were almost blank. No dozens of countries, no islands off the coast, even the continents themselves were smaller and more rounded. No more bits of land sticking out in odd shapes.

'Apparently all contact was lost between the continents,' explained Antonio, pointed to where he'd read it in the book he was holding, 'so no one knows what the shapes of the continents are or if people still even live there anymore.'

'No one bothered to look?' Lovino raised an eyebrow.

'Probably too scared to,' Antonio replied, 'who knows what dangers could be there.'

'Yeah,' Lovino rubbed his temples, shaking his head, 'this is all too weird to imagine! I mean, I knew there was a world outside the city, but it's always been a bad place where criminals go. I never considered the possibilities of other people and seas and holy crap! This is huge!'

'We weren't taught to consider it,' Antonio reminded him, 'like we weren't taught to consider all these old countries. Look at them! There are hundreds!' he ran his eyes over the map again, 'and each one had a different culture.'

'Cul… ture,' Lovino liked that word, 'so, err, where are we?'

'Oh?' Antonio pointed to a tiny dot in the southeast corner of Eurasia, 'there. Which, according to the map, is somewhere around Austria, Slovenia, Hungary and Croatia. Not sure exactly; the shape's too altered.'

'We're pretty near to the sea,' Lovino commented.

'Yeah,' agreed Antonio, 'probably why we get rain at all.'

'I see,' Lovino shook his head, 'this is… just… dammit! My brain can't take all this knowledge at once!'

'Same here,' Antonio grimaced, 'my head's feeling a little fried.'

'So call it a night then,' Carlos growled, appearing behind them, 'come on! I have the number of the room we're staying in tonight so let's get some shuteye.'

'Course,' Antonio yawned and stood up but Lovino frowned.

'We're sharing a room?' he demanded.

'Yeah,' Carlos shrugged, 'one night, okay? Don't start bitching about it, please,' then he turned to Antonio, 'seriously man it's nearly midnight. What the hell were you doing?'

'Reading,' Antonio began to make his way to the door.

'You into that now?' Carlos raised an eyebrow at his brother.

'Shut it,' Antonio growled.

'It's gonna be a long night,' Lovino groaned, shutting the library door as he left and clutching his forehead.

…

Yes, yes, I know. I should've updated way sooner, sorry. Gonna start putting the human names at the front now to avoid confusion.


	20. Together

'I hope Lovi's okay,' Feliciano whined, gazing out of the window. The rain hadn't abated during the night and was still pouring down heavily, resigning everyone to another day inside. The boy looked up at the grey sky and he took Ludwig's hand in his. The friends stood side by side as they peered through the glass, searching for anything that wasn't rain or metal or puddles.

Rain meant rust, and rust meant their home getting nearer to falling apart. Luckily, storms and dampness were rare, but each time rain fell in their little house more and more rust appeared like dried blood, flaking away, thinning the walls, weakening the roof. It was only a matter of time before the whole iron level fell apart, along with the scrap and any other rust-prone metal levels. Then where would they go? The place was overcrowded enough as it was. For a city containing only around a million people or so, it was quite small and compact. Everyone was on top of each other, in the scrap level and poorer parts of the iron level, where the only accommodation available were tiny flats, people literally lived on top of each other.

Funnily enough, the Emperor always seemed to think the city was under populated, and every time the population dropped under a million, there would be mass panic, campaigns to get people to produce more children and (unsuccessful) attempts to ban same-sex relations. Feli wondered why. Was the Emperor really that worried the population would die out if there were too few people? What did he even care? Maybe if he expanded the city there'd be space for more people. Feli always thought the royals loved making people unhappy and always suffering. Oh, maybe they wanted lots of people to oppress, or were worried there'd be no one left to hurt if everyone died out.

Feli wondered, just for a moment, if they were actually worried about their citizens, but pushed that thought out of his head. His father said they were evil. Lovino said they were bastards. And now Francis and his other cousins called them murderers. If Ludwig could talk, he'd probably say the same thing.

'Hey, are you two staring outside again?' asked Francis softly, walking over with Michelle.

'Cousin Francis,' began Feli, 'do you know where Lovino is? I'm worried about him.'

'I'm sure he's fine,' Francis gave a comforting smile and ruffled his younger cousin's hair, 'he's probably at work or staying with friends.'

'But what if he'd not?' pressed Feli, 'what if he got stuck outside? What if he died?'

'Morbid,' Francis commented, 'look, your brother is fine. We'd know if he was in trouble.'

'Are you sure?' Feli looked uncertain.

'Lovi's too cool to get himself hurt,' Sal piped up, sliding over to the group, 'I know that for sure!'

'See!' Francis grinned, 'listen to your brother!'

…

Jan wrapped the remains of his jacket tighter around him, shivering violently. The cell he was sat in was damp and cold, due to the lack of glass in the window. Outside, the rain poured down, some even splashing inside, and the rhythmic sound helped to keep him reasonably calm.

Jan looked down at himself, and wondered if his friends would even recognise him when the authorities were done. His hair was dirty and flat, covered in grime and a far cry from his intricately styled hairdo. His bare legs and arms were covered in bruises and cut now, from where he'd been beaten and his face probably wasn't any better. He could feel blood blinding his right eye and knew some of those scars wouldn't heal, ever. They'd screamed, lashed out, threatened, inflicted all manners of pain, but he'd not given anything away.

Jan allowed his mouth to twitch into a small smile, even for a moment. He was proud of himself. The others would be too if they could see him, and Jan knew he couldn't let them down, not Eva, not Sadik, not Carlos and Lovino. No way would he be the one to betray them, despite how many times he'd been close to letting something slip whenever a baton almost broke a bone or a knife went in a little too deep.

He'd been strong. Yes, it had only been one day out of goodness knows how many, but so far he'd held his own, denied everything, not said or done anything that would be trouble for him or his sister.

Jan lost himself in the rhythm and sight of the rain as it dashed past his barred window and trickled down the stony walls, forming pools on the floor. After a while, he slowly, painfully, hauled himself up, one hand resting on the wall for support, the other holding his jacket and shirt together. He took a small step forward, then another, the water covering the floor seeping into his torn trainers. His feet made squelching and splashing noises as he crossed the room, but he only focused on the rain.

Eventually making it to the window, Jan looked out at the city, with its different metallic hues. Even through the grey, Jan spotted flashes of silver, bronze and copper and the river in the distance, swollen and overflowing. He decided to take the opportunity to study his home in detail from his vantage point. Looking directly down, he found that the stone wall was completely vertical, and a near thirty-foot drop; it was impossible to escape. Beyond that, past the wall surrounding the prison, with its barbed wire and machine gun posts, was an empty shell of a town. There was no one around. No bikes whizzing past, no people going about their business, and even the boats were covered in canvas sheets and left to float in the river, their owners hoping the ropes would hold them in place. It was eerie, the lack of movement. There was no smoke or clanking noises coming from the factories, no shouts of workmen or children's laughter. Jan swore he saw figures slumped in doorways or laying in the street that looked suspiciously like bodies, but his eyes brushed past them.

Now was not the time for omens of death.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, Jan heard the door unlocking behind him and turned to see two guards enter. Standing firm and trying not to show any signs of fear, Jan couldn't stop himself from shaking, but whether it was from fear or the cold, he could not say.

'It's time for your next round of interrogation,' one of the guards stated, stepping forward and holding out a pair of handcuffs, 'we're still not satisfied with your answers, Mr Baeten.'

Jan suppressed a gulp, and nodded.

…

'Planets?' Carlos looked around the table in disbelief.

'No way!' Lovino rubbed his eyes, staring at the book in his hands, 'we're… floating around with a load of other things?'

'Apparently,' Mathias leaned back, rubbing his temples. Everyone was crowded into the library, reading and talking. There was not much else to do. Sadik read quietly to Kuzey in the corner, the kid's eye's half closed as he fought to stay awake.

'So we're not alone?' asked Tino, 'there could be life on other planets as well as other continents?'

'There could be life just outside the city walls and we'd never know,' Aleksander replied.

'Doubt it,' Heracles commented, 'there's a clear zone for about a mile around the whole city. I think people learned quickly it was too dangerous to go anywhere near here.'

'This is so crazy!' cried Antonio, 'just, all this knowledge! It's scary to imagine!'

'Require a break?' asked Kiku.

'Yeah,' Antonio sighed and stood up, 'gonna explore for a bit. See ya.'

'Bye,' Carlos grunted, picking up another book.

Heracles also stood up, and moved over to Sadik.

'Your kid's a lot cuter when he's asleep,' the young man commented, sitting down next to the pair. Kuzey was curled up on Sadik's lap, fast asleep with a thumb in his mouth.

'You saying he ain't cute awake?' Sadik demanded.

'Not at all,' Heracles gave a small smile.

'Hmph,' Sadik narrowed his eyes, but didn't reply. Instead, he looked around the group at the people who'd chosen to help him. 'You picked a first-rate bunch,' he finally said, 'good job.'

'That might be the nicest thing you've said to me,' Heracles' looked at Sadik in amusement.

'Oh don't flatter yourself,' Sadik grunted, 'I believe in giving credit where it's due. You're kind of smart, and responsible and dedicated.'

'Thank you,' Heracles nodded, 'I _am_ aware of this, though.'

'So…' Sadik twiddled his thumbs, 'do you have anything to add?'

'Nope, I, too, believe in giving credit only where it's due.'

'Little punk,' growled Sadik, 'why do you have to ruin everything?'

'Only a fool gives compliments and expects them in return,' stated Heracles, 'actions like that only spread shallow behaviour that could tear the world apar-'Yeah, yeah,' Sadik waved a hand, 'just shut up if you can't say nice things, prick.'

'Excuse me,' hissed Kiku, turning around to glare at his friends, 'don't start fighting again! I will not go easy on you if you do.'

'Understood,' Sadik gave a thumbs up, rolling his eyes, 'can't believe I'm being bossed around by my own men.'

'A good leader lets his followers give him advice,' Heracles commented, 'that way he can grow and learn and understand his people better. Just because you command us doesn't mean you're exempt from fault.'

'For a pretty quiet guy you don't half say a lot of words.'

'So do you,' Heracles shot back, 'shame not all of them matter.'

'Don't you have somewhere else you could be?'

…

'Hey, Tsvetan, right?' Tino sat next to the dark-haired man, smiling warmly. He was still having trouble earning the trust of the other members, no matter how friendly he was and, in all honesty, Tino didn't blame them. Not after what he'd done to them and so many others. It would take something drastic for everyone to see him as one of them, Tino had realised; he would always hate himself for his crimes, so it made sense everyone would hate him too. In fact, Berwald, his sons, Mathias, Aleksander and Aleksander's brother, Erikur, were the only ones in the city who didn't despise him for various reasons.

Not that that would stop him from trying to be pleasant.

'Oh, hello Mr Tino,' Tsvetan gave a small smile, looking up from his book, 'how are you taking confinement?'

'Not too bad,' Tino laughed, hands resting on the table, clasping and unclasping each other, 'missing my family though.'

'Husband, yes?'

'Sons too,' Tino clarified, 'Peter and Lars.'

'Ah, I remember hearing your story,' Tsvetan looked at him in interest, 'it must be nice, having that rare opportunity for parenthood. It's a shame children aren't freely given to couples, made up of any genders, then we could all be fathers if we wanted to.'

'Yeah,' Tino sighed, 'it's been an honour to be a part of my boys' lives.'

'Do you ever resent it,' asked Tsvetan, 'swapping your arm for your children's lives.'

'I see my story has already been romanticised and exaggerated,' Tino commented, 'no, Peter and Lars were already long safe by the time Berwald and I were caught. If we'd have been killed, Mathias and Aleksander would have raised them. Simple as. The mutilation was for my own life, and Berwald's too.'

'I see,' Tsvetan rubbed his chin, 'sorry about the inaccuracies. Alin was the one to tell me and, well, he gets a bit over the top when it comes to accounts, likes to make them more noble and romantic, see?'

'Understood,' Tino chuckled, 'but for the record, if someone asked me to, I'd die for my family.'

'Never doubted that for a second,' Tsvetan replied.

'And what about you?' asked Tino, 'is there anyone at home you're worried about?'

'No,' Tsvetan murmured, 'no one at home anymore.'

'I'm sorry to hear that,'

'Don't be,' Tsvetan ordered, 'for once, it's not your fault.'

There was a silence between the two for a while, a comfortable one only broken when Tsvetan gave a low chuckle.

'What?' asked Tino.

'Oh nothing,' Tsvetan replied, 'I was just wondering, well, which is more dangerous: a man who fights because he fears losing everything, or a man who fights because he has nothing left to lose.'

'You believe you have nothing left?' asked Tino.

'Yes,' Tsvetan replied firmly, 'I am alone.'

'Really?' Tino looked past him, a concerned expression on his face, 'I know someone who might disagree.'

'Oh?' Tsvetan's eyebrows knotted together, then he glanced to where Tino was staring, and caught sight of Alin, face buried in a book to hide tears and sniffing loudly. 'Come on, Al, I didn't mean-' Alin ignored him and disappeared into the maze of bookshelves. Tsvetan groaned and stood up, 'why does he have to be so dramatic?' he sighed, 'gotta sort this out now. Bye Tino, thanks for the chat.' Then he dashed off in the direction his friend had run in. Navigating his way through furniture and books, he eventually found Alin curled up in the corner hugging his knees, dried tears on a miserable expression.

'Seriously?' Tsvetan raised an eyebrow, glaring down at him, 'don't you think this is a little over the top?' when he got no reply, except for a whimper as Alin's face crumpled, bringing fresh tears, Tsvetan sighed and sat next to the other man, 'you know I didn't mean it like that.'

'I thought we were partners,' Alin mumbled, 'thought you knew I'd care if you died… and I thought _you'd_ care if _I_ died.'

'I do!' Tsvetan insisted, resting a hand on Alin's shoulder only to have it shrugged off, 'you're important to me.'

'I can't be _that _important,' Alin glared at him, 'if all you care about is fighting and dying. Think of the people who'd miss you if you were arrested or tortured or… or…'

'I know you're concerned,' Tsvetan began, 'but you know you're just as much at risk. In fact, weren't you the one who _demanded_ we join?'

'I have to fight,' Alin, 'I feel it in my soul. I have to try and make a change.'

'Because you feel like there's nothing else,' Tsvetan finished, 'you know, we're so close that sometimes I forget we're two separate people. That's what I mean when I have nothing: we have nothing. That's why we stick together, right?'

'Us against this shithole of a world,' Alin grinned, slinging an arm over Tsvetan's shoulders.

'Too damn right,' Tsvetan pinched Alin's cheeks, grinning brightly, 'we'll live, fight and die side by side, I can assure you.'

…

'Psst, hey Lovino,' Carlos nudged his friend.

'What?' Lovino hissed back.

'You getting bored sittin and reading?' Carlos asked.

'A little,' Lovino admitted, 'should we take a break? All this info's hurting my brain.'

'Yeah,' Carlos stretched and stood up, 'let's see where my dumbass brother's got to. Do you think he's gotten himself lost yet?'

'Ah he's not an idiot,' Lovino waved a hand, 'just… fucking annoying.'

'Like you,' Carlos grinned, 'fancy that.'

'Yeah, yeah,' Lovino light punched his friend in the arm, 'come on, there must be somewhere we've not been to.'

They walked past the others, sometimes overhearing the others' conversations. Mathias giggled as he lay back in his chair with a chart.

'What now?' asked Aleksander, giving an air of irritation, 'still laughing at Uranus?'

'Nope,' Mathias grinned, 'just thinking about how Erikur's doing with no TV signal. He must be going mental!'

Aleksander chuckled, 'I hope he's not giving Berwald any trouble.'

Leaving the library behind them, Carlos and Lovino wandered down the corridors until they found Antonio running towards them, beaming and breathless.

'Guys!' he panted, 'come… come with me! Guess what I found?'

'Food?' suggested Carlos, 'a bed? More books?'

'Nope,' Antonio took his friends' hands in his own, leading them down the corridor, 'even better!' after an uneventful ten minute walk, Antonio stopped before a little door in an unfamiliar section of the mass of tunnels and opened it, ushering the two boys inside.

'I found the music room!' he cried, switching on the light. Lovino and Carlos looked around in awe at the tiny room they found themselves in.

Everywhere there was a multitude of old wooden (real wood? They must be really ancient) and plastic objects of all shapes and sizes. Carlos grinned and picked up the nearest one, a large circular item with a thin film stretched across it and Lovino decided to copy him, picking up a similar item and tapping the film lightly. It was a curious little thing and Lovino couldn't help giving a little smile.

'What the hell are these things?' he asked, raising an eyebrow at Antonio.

'Instruments!' cried the young man.

'Of torture?' Lovino's smile instantly fell and the object in his hands suddenly felt sinister. He wondered how much agony and suffering it had cause in its lifetime and almost dropped it, but he couldn't quite bring himself to.

'What? No,' the pain in Antonio's voice made Lovino look up, 'instruments for music!' Antonio seemed to be staring at him with an ache and compassion Lovino had never seen before, as if the very thought of Lovino not recognising the instrument pained him.

'Music?' asked Carlos, 'what the hell is that?'

'Um,' Antonio scratched his chin, 'it's kinda hard to explain. I found a book that did a good job,' he pushed a large, thin book under Carlos and Lovino's noses, 'it's basically using sound to create a harmony or express emotion.'

'How?' Carlos raised an eyebrow.

'Instruments!' Antonio picked up a large wooden instrument and poked at the strings on it with his fingers. A few, simple notes drifted towards Lovino's ears and he drew closer, 'they all have different names!' continued Antonio, 'the book told me! This one's a guitar, apparently, and the ones you're holding are drums,' Antonio pointed to other objects around the room, 'and there are cellos, violins, saxophones, pianos, trumpets, bodrans, steel pans and all sorts of things! I wish I knew how to play them, especially this,' he looked down at the guitar in his hands, 'I'd feel so powerful, being able to make people happy with noise.'

'So what about these?' Carlos sat down on the floor, holding the drum up to the light.

'You tap the skin with your hands,' Antonio explained as he and Lovino joined him on the floor, 'simple, huh?'

Carlos did as instructed hitting the drum hard.

'You can also go slow,' Antonio told him, 'oh and you can sing too!'

'Sing?' asked Lovino.

'Making music with your voice,' Antonio explained, 'you can say words and noises to music and make songs!'

'What do people say when they sing?'

'Anything!' Antonio cried, 'it says so in my book! You can sing about love, life, death, hate, or just things you see during the day.'

'How do you even make music with your mouth?' asked Lovino.

'Not entirely sure,' Antonio picked up his book again, 'why don't the three of us figure it out?'

'Sure,' Carlos shrugged, 'can kill a few hours this way.'

…

'Hello? Anyone here?' Mathias stuck his head in the music room and found three young man repeating the same noises over and over.

'Look, I'm sure we're getting the hang of it,' Antonio ran his fingers through his hair, 'come on: la la la. Hold the notes!'

'How?' cried Lovino, 'I've never done this before!'

'Can I help you?' asked Mathias, stepping further into the room.

'Huh?' Carlos looked up, 'when did you get here?'

'Just now,' Mathias chuckled, 'got a bit lost. So what are you up to?'

'Sit down,' growled Lovino, 'it's a long story.'

…

'Where the hell is everyone?' Sadik asked Kiku, wandering down the corridor several hours later, 'they've all moseyed off!' Kuzey was right beside him, looking around curiously as he hadn't had time to explore the headquarters fully yet.

'I'm perfectly sure they're here somewhere,' the dark-haired man replied, 'we'll find them soon enough.'

'Sure,' Sadik opened a door and peered in, 'nope, now here either.'

Just then, a strange noise caught their attention. It was a haunting, melancholy tune, several voices saying the same thing in a musical fashion. Curious, the trio followed the noise to its source, and found themselves standing in front of a little, plain door.

'So they found the music room then,' Sadik chuckled and pushed the door open and found all his stranded guests sprawled in the floor chanting and tapping out a slow, steady beat on various types of drum. Some hit large drums with their bare hands whilst others used thin sticks on smaller instruments to give a lighter, contrasting beat.

'Good work everyone!' Antonio called, 'we're really getting the hang of it!' he had a large wooden guitar slung over his shoulders and had appeared to have abandoned all hope of mastering the strings, instead using the body as a drum to lead the little choir of revolutionaries.

'What's going on?' demanded Sadik, unable to suppress a smile.

'We learnt how to sing!' Tino called back.

'And play music!' Mathias added.

'Oh yeah?' Sadik raised an eyebrow whilst Kiku sat down next to Heracles.

'We made a song,' the young man explained calmly, 'about life and our ambitions. Want to hear what we have so far?'

'Yes please,' Kiku gave a small smile and rested his head on his partner's shoulder.

'It's not finished,' Alin explained, 'but what we have so far is pretty neat.'

'Go ahead!' Sadik leaned against the doorframe, and lifted his brother up, 'we might even teach it to the others when the rain stops.'

'So you haven't come to tell us it hasn't then?' asked Tino, brow creasing in worry.

'Tino, I'm sure your family are perfectly fine on their own,' Sadik sighed, holding Kuzey tighter.

'But Berwald-'

'Has the boys to look after him,' Sadik finished, 'now, about this song?'

'Right,' Antonio cleared his throat, 'remember the beat? Da dum, da dum, da dum.' Everyone began the slow beat on their assorted drums, 'one, two three!'

'_Now listen up and listen good,_

_For we'll only be saying this once, you hear?_

_No longer hiding,_

_And no longer shaking,_

_Up we'll rise together as one,_

_Storm your castles, defeat your armies,_

_And lay siege to the jewelled kingdom.'_

When they'd finished, Antonio grinned apologetically, 'er, that's all we've got so far.'

'It's brilliant!' cried Sadik, 'amazing! Perfect! Yes, it needs smoothing out and finishing, but once it's done we'll have a song! And, believe me, it'll be one everyone will hear!'

…

**Yes, I know, long time no see. I'm afraid I'll have to announce more waiting for a few weeks while I do my exams. They're pretty important, so all fanfics are getting shelved for the time being. I'll continue them in about six weeks or so.**

**Right, so the song is actually one I'm making up for this story, and the only thing about the fic that I own.**

**And Erikur's the name for Iceland.**


	21. Mist

Eric- Cameroon

…

Everyone was restless.

Gathered in the main hall, Lovino, Carlos, Antonio, Sadik, Kuzey, Kiku, Alin, Tsvetan, Tino and Mathias were slumped on chairs. Tino scratched at the table with a dart whilst Mathias occasionally broke the silence with a joke that fell flat. Kuzey was once more sitting on his brother's lap, reading quietly, the only one who appeared content. Alin stretched his arms, chewed pens, braided his own hair, rubbed his eyes, put his hat on Tsvetan and generally fidgeted whilst Tsvetan tapped a beat on the table with his fingers, a habit he'd picked up during the stormy weather.

Another night underground had proved enough to evaporate any excitement and curiosity and, in the late morning, everyone just seemed to be existing, having no energy to do anything in the stuffy room.

Finally, Carlos let out a snarl, throwing his arms in the air, 'someone say something dammit!'

There was a pause before Tsvetan spoke up, 'well, sometimes I make little glove puppets of my enemies then kill them off, or make them kiss each other.'

Alin covered his partner's mouth with a hand, 'Tsve, just, stop talking.'

'You trying to silence me, bitch?' Tsvetan mumbled, glaring at him.

'Not at all,' Alin shrugged, 'least I now know where all my gloves keep disappearing to.'

There was an awkward silence for a few more minutes before Heracles burst in through the doors.

'It's stopped!' he cried, 'the storm's over! We can leave!'

'Oh thank fuck!' everyone leapt to their feet and pushed past each other to reach the door.

'Oy oy!' Sadik stood on the table and cupped his mouth with his hands, 'hang on a minute! Now that I have your attention, take the day off! No meetings, no drills, just, get out of my sight cause you're starting to smell and I'm sick of looking at you. And tell everyone that they don't have to come here unless something important happened. Now, go find your families and enjoy the sun!'

No one needed telling twice.

…

'Where do you think your brother will be?' asked Arthur, looking around the crowded square, where everyone was looking for loved ones, setting up stalls to make up for money lost and just soaking up the sun. There was a light mist everywhere as the puddles slowly evaporated and, for once, the air was cool and tolerable instead of thin and humid.

'I have no idea,' Eva sighed and looked around hopelessly, 'if he's been released, then I'd say at Steel Bridge, where they took him away. He might be waiting for me there.'

'We'll try there then,' Arthur tentatively took Eva's hand and began leading her through the crowd, careful to not let go, lest they get separated.

Eventually, Arthur and Eva found themselves standing on the large bridge overlooking a particularly deep and wide part of the river. Arms resting against the railing, Eva looked around, scanning the, thinner, better dressed, horde for her brother.

'He's not here,' she lowered her gaze, lip quivering; 'they've killed him, haven't they? Or they're still keeping him prisoner.'

'Course not!' exclaimed Arthur, 'why on earth would they do that? I doubt Jan admitted anything unsavoury. He's pretty sturdy.'

'But he's not invincible,' whispered Eva.

'He's probably at home!' Arthur suggested, 'he could be there waiting for you.'

'That's true,' Eva grinned and took Arthur's arm, 'c'mon then!'

'Evie?' the girl turned around to find a ragged, bloodied mess staring at her. His jeans and jacket were torn and muddy, and stained deep red in patches whilst his hair was flat and caked in grease and dried blood whilst his eyes were wide, giving away dread and terror. He was shaking, and swaying from side to side, almost too weak to stand. Eva withdrew in horror, gasping at the state her brother was in, then took a step forward, holding out her hand.

'What happened to you?' she murmured.

'They asked me a few questions,' Jan avoided her gaze, allowing Eva to stroke his face slowly, 'that's all.'

'You poor thing,' she cooed, eyebrows knitting together, 'look, we'll go home and get you cleaned up.' Now was not the time for questioning him and making him relive his ordeal, so she just focused on getting him well again.

'Thank you,' Eva began to lead Jan away, taking his hand as Jan seemed too dazed to walk by himself. He flinched slightly at each touch.

'I'll leave you two then,' Arthur coughed slightly.

'Thank you for everything,' Eva smiled warmly, 'you're a true gentleman.'

'Hey it's what any human would do,' Arthur shrugged and began disappearing into the crowd.

'Give my love to your family!' Eva called, then took her brother home.

…

'Carlos said there was no meet up today,' Eva frowned as she followed Jan down the corridor, 'you should be at home resting! You've been through a lot and I just want you to relax while I take care of you. Sadik can wait.' Jan was clean now, in a new change of clothes with his hairstyle back to normal, but now Eva could see each individual scar, cut, and purple bruise. Jan was having trouble walking straight, and had a hand resting on the wall for support. He had a slight limp too, and was still shaking slightly.

'I'm fine,' he mumbled.

'You're talking bullshit.'

'I can manage a little conversation,' Jan shrugged, 'I just want to know everything that's happened while I was… away.'

'Probably nothing,' Eva shrugged, 'not much to do inside.'

Jan didn't reply, opening the door to the hall where he found Sadik racing Kuzey around the edge of the room.

'You'll have to try harder than that, squirt!' he cried, suddenly turning on his brother and picking him up. Kuzey squealed in delight as Sadik tickled him.

'Hey you visited!' Sadik caught sight of the siblings as they approached, setting Kuzey down.

'Jan! Eva!' Kuzey ran into Eva's arms and she ruffled his hair, fussing over him.

'Holy shit! What happened to you?' Sadik blinked in shock, staring at Jan with a mixture of concern and horror.

'Walked into a door,' Jan mumbled.

'You're marked all over!'

'It was a revolving door,'

Sadik's eyes narrowed, 'don't play games with me! Who did it? Who do I have to mess up? Nobody hurts you and gets away with it!'

'No one,' Jan averted his gaze, 'look, I slipped in the rain and fell down some stairs. I was in a panic because, well, everyone was and I was running out of time to find shelter.'

'Then why are some of your injuries older than others?' questioned Sadik. Jan didn't- couldn't- answer, squirming under his partner's gaze.

'Fine, don't tell me,' Sadik threw his hands in the air, 'see if I care.'

'So has anything happened over the past few days?' asked Jan, desperate for a change in subject.

'Not much,' Sadik shrugged, 'went through the library and made up a song.'

'Song?'

'Yeah, it was nice hearing music again,' Sadik grinned, 'we'll probably give a performance tomorrow, but for now everyone's just getting some sunlight.'

'Shame we can't plan a nice day out for you too,' Jan sighed, 'I guess Eva and I could keep you company,' he glanced over at where Eva was playing tag with Kuzey, 'I think she wants me to stay inside anyway.'

'Thanks,' Sadik chuckled, scratching the back of his head, 'it's pretty lonely on our own down here.'

…

Lovino darted past citizens and families, catching sight of the occasional medic, standing grimly over a body. Lovino tried not to look too closely at the bloated, blue faces of those caught outside, but it was hard to look away. Feeling queasy, he stumbled into his house, only to be attacked by his younger brothers.

'You're safe!' cried Sal, hugging Lovino tightly, 'damn we were so worried!'

'Come on! We were just about to have lunch!' Lovino found himself being dragged into the sitting room by Feliciano, who shoved a loaded plate into his hands as he sat at the dining table with Romulus, Francis, Ludwig and Michelle.

'Lovi my boy!' boomed Romulus, 'you found somewhere to hide then.'

'Yeah,' Lovino shrugged, 'just stayed at work.'

'Same thing with Alfred and Mathew,' Francis commented, 'their boss gave everyone the day off so they're looking for a nice little café with outside tables to spend the afternoon in. Apparently Mr Laurinaitis was getting a bit sick of them all, especially when they had a wrestling tournament to pass the time.'

'I think I might go outside too,' Lovino grinned, 'hey Feli, Sal, wanna go play by the river?'

'Sure! Can Ludwig come too?' asked Feliciano.

'And Michelle?' added Salvatorio.

'Fine,' Lovino was fond of Michelle, and should have known his brother would want the scary blond child to accompany them, so didn't make a fuss as they changed clothes and dug the ball out of the cupboard, passing it to Sal for safekeeping. He led them outside watching them closely as he could for four young teens. At thirteen and fourteen, he knew they were capable of looking after themselves to an extent, but still saw them, especially his brothers, as children. They would always be his baby brothers, Lovino realised, even when the three of them were old and wrinkly, if Lovino got to that stage, that is.

Of course, he couldn't care if Ludwig got lost, but still kept an eye on him, for Feli and Marianne's sake.

'The water will be nice and cool today, right Lovino?' Michelle walked beside him, making polite conversation.

'Oh definitely,' he grinned at her, 'gonna go swimming?'

'Yes! I hope your papa won't mind me getting all wet; the water will drip everywhere.'

'Nah, it's cool,' Lovino chuckled, 'it'll evaporate before we're halfway home anyways.'

'Great!' they exchanged more meaningless words, a temporary feeling of freedom and peace descending on the group. When they finally got to Lovino's spot by the bridge, they found the waters had already descended back to their original height, probably through the use of manmade pumps and drainage systems.

'Here!' Sal threw the ball to Feli, who threw it to Ludwig. The boy jumped slightly, only just catching it.

'Now you throw it to me,' Michelle explained and Ludwig obliged, giving a small smile when she caught it.

Lovino stood at the sidelines, leaning against the wall as the younger teens played happily, releasing all the energy stored from their few days trapped inside, and wondered how his friends were doing. He had yet to find Jan and Eva, and he'd lost sight of Antonio and Carlos when he left the café, though he was sick of the sight of them anyway. He hoped they were having a nice time though.

'Hey you!' Lovino turned to find a guard pacing towards him.

'Problem sir?' he asked, trying to think of what he could have possibly done to offend him.

'Name?' the guard towered over him, and Lovino decided not to aggravate him any further.

'Lovino Vargas.'

'Vargas? We'll have to search you for any suspicious and criminalising items,' Lovino felt gloved hands pat at his sides, pockets and arms, not resisting, 'where were you during the storm?'

'At work,' Lovino replied.

'Where would that be?'

'Karpusi's café,' Lovino hoped he wasn't landing Heracles in any trouble.

'Do you have any connections to any suspected criminals?'

'None whatsoever.'

'What about the others?'

'My family?' Lovino glanced to where his brothers, cousin and Ludwig were looking at him curiously, ball abandoned, 'they're just children. What could they possibly get up to?'

'Still, we can't be too careful,' the guard grabbed Ludwig's arm, 'and who's this?'

Ludwig shook his head, shaking.

'Answer me!'

'He's Ludwig Beilschmidt,' explained Lovino, 'and he can't talk, so there's no point in asking him things.'

'Beilschmidt?' the guard raised an eyebrow, 'well, we all know about_ his_ family's history.'

'Sure, Gilbert broke the law but the boy's done nothing,' Lovino insisted, 'everyone here can vouch for that.'

'The word of a Vargas means nothing in the eyes of the law!'

'We have not stepped out of line!' cried Lovino, 'we're just playing!'

'New law,' grunted the guard, 'everyone's subject to sporadic searches now, especially top suspects,' he spied Michelle, and his lip curled into a sneer, 'what about the girl?'

'Michelle Bonnefoy,' Lovino stood protectively in front of her, Feliciano, Ludwig and Sal also moving behind him for safety.

'Step aside, child,' spat the guard, 'the sooner everyone is searched, the sooner I'll go.'

'I don't like the way you're looking at my cousin,' Lovino surprised himself with his daring, 'and I don't like the way you're treating my brothers. So back off.'

'You dare give me orders?' the guard struck Lovino hard across the face, causing the boy to hiss in pain and stagger, but he stood firm. Feliciano gasped, tugging at his brother's sleeve. 'I have the authority to arrest every single member of your family,' the guard grabbed Lovino by the shirt, pulling him closer, 'now let me do my job.'

'No,'

Another slap, but Lovino couldn't let him get to the others.

'What's going on?' an unfamiliar voice made the guard stop and Lovino turned around to find Eric, a young boatman and familiar resistor face, stepping off the long wooden craft he made his living on and tying it up to a bollard before looking at the guard curiously.

'Nothing to see here, move along now.'

'I want to know what you're doing to my buddy,' Eric explained calmly, 'I cannot believe he'd do anything to get on the wrong side of the law.'

'He refused to let his party be searched!'

'And who authorised this?' Eric raised an eyebrow.

'The Emperor himself,' the guard stuck his chin out proudly.

'But you can clearly see the children have nothing worthy of arrest on them,' Eric noted, 'sounds to me like you're abusing your powers for no reason. I have a good mind to report you to your superiors.'

'Do you think they'll believe the word of a boatman over me, a member of the Emperor's guard?'

'A denunciation is a denunciation, no matter who it comes from,' Eric smiled, ever so slightly smugly, 'the police take all reports seriously, whether they are truthful or not.'

'I see,' the guard, reluctantly, let go of Lovino, pushing him roughly away, then left.

'Wow thanks,' Lovino scratched the back of his head, 'for a moment there I was pretty worried,' he put his arm around Sal, who was shaking and sniffing quietly to himself.

'Don't mention it,' Eric shrugged, 'small acts of rebellion are always fun.'

'Too right,' Lovino picked up the ball from where Feli had dropped it, 'fancy a game?'

'I can't say no to football,' Eric grinned, 'besides, I've pretty much made all my deliveries for today.'

'That was quick; thought you'd be swamped,' Lovino glanced at the boat, frowning at the sheet of canvas covering an unknown pile of objects at the stern, 'what about those?'

'Huh?' Eric glanced at the boat, 'oh… those can be delivered later.'

'If you say so,' Lovino shrugged, 'hey, if we win can you give us a lift home?'

'Sure, _if_ you win.'

…

Michelle admired the way the longboat cut through the clear, calm river water, kneeling down and leaning over the edge to stare at the bottom, which caused Lovino no small amount of worry. The group had split into two teams, the Vargas brothers versus Eric, Michelle and Ludwig, who turned out to be quite skilled. Lovino's team had lost, badly, but Eric still let them climb aboard his boat. As the young man paddled the craft forward, Lovino allowed himself to relax a little, lazily swinging his legs over the side, allowing the cool water to soothe them.

'So what's under the sheet then?' asked Sal curiously, 'is it food? Treasure?'

'Those caught in the storm, who will be returned to their families soon,' explained Eric sadly. Lovino shifted further away from the canvas, glancing wearily at it. Of course, he'd forgotten one of Eric's jobs was to transport bodies found in the streets and couldn't help but wonder if, sometime in the near future, that could be him under the sheet, cut down in combat by the army in a street conflict or protest.

Suddenly, the world around him seemed far less peaceful.

…

Hello, long time no see, huh? Sorry for the delay, and I have no excuse aside from laziness. Unfortunately, I won't be updating anything for some time due to exams and whatnot, so sorry in advance.


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